Kabir was born on July 4, 1955, in Hasail Banari Union of Tongibari upozila in Dhaka Bikrampur (present day Munshiganj district) then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).He completed his secondary and higher secondary education at Faujdarhat Cadet College.

He served as the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Kishoreganj District, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Director General of the National Academy for Planning and Development (NAPD), Director General of the Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy, and Secretary of the Ministry of Railways.

[6] Kabir was made chairman of Sonali Bank after it was hit by several financial scams, including one involving Hall-Mark Group.

[1] On March 15, 15, 2016, the then governor Atiur Rahman resigned from his post amid the Bangladesh Bank money laundering case.

He submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and within two hours, Kabir was selected as the new four-year-term governor of Bangladesh Bank.