The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) is delighted to announce the appointment of Belinda Allen as its new Head of Australian Economics. Belinda will be responsible for developing the Bank's Australian economic forecasts, views on the Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate, while continuing to leverage CBA's internal data assets to derive insights on the Australian economy.
Belinda currently serves as a Senior Economist within CBA's Global Economic and Markets Research (GEMR) team, having joined the Bank in 2017. With extensive experience as a financial markets economist, Belinda has a long track record delivering insightful analysis and commentary on the Australian economy and financial markets.
"Belinda has established herself as a trusted and authoritative voice on the Australian economy over a long period of time. I'm delighted to announce her appointment as CBA's Head of Australian Economics," said Luke Yeaman, Chief Economist at CBA.
"Her deep expertise will be instrumental as we continue to lead the national conversation on key economic issues and leverage the Bank's unique data capabilities to generate meaningful insights for customers."
Commenting on her appointment, Ms Allen said: "It's an honour to take on the role of Head of Australian Economics at CBA. I'm excited to lead our talented team in delivering timely, actionable insights, informed by key economic indicators and the Bank's unique and comprehensive financial data set."
Before joining CBA, Belinda spent over a decade at Colonial First State Global Asset Management (now First Sentier) where she held the role of Senior Analyst in the Economic and Market Research team. She holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and is a CFA charterholder.
Vivek Dhar, Adam Donaldson appointed to newly created leadership roles
The appointment of Belinda Allen forms part of a broader refresh of CBA's GEMR structure, which now comprises four teams.
Vivek Dhar has been appointed into the newly created Head of Commodities and Sustainable Economics role, reflecting the increasing influence of energy markets and the net zero transition on industries and markets. Vivek will lead the continued growth of CBA's sustainability research offering and the development of forecasts for major commodities, including gas and electricity prices.
Based in Singapore, Vivek has worked as Commonwealth Bank's lead mining and energy commodities strategist since late 2014.
Adam Donaldson has been appointed to the newly created position as Head of Market Strategy and Rates Research, joining from CBA's Global Markets team. Adam will be responsible for developing and communicating integrated strategic insights related to Australian, New Zealand and global financial markets. He will also lead the development of views on funding markets, swaps and various bond markets and yield curves.
Joseph Capurso will continue as Head of International Economics and Foreign Exchange, responsible for developing CBA's forecasts for the major global economies, central bank policy and currencies. Joe will also have responsibility for expanding CBA's geoeconomic research, reflecting the increasingly complex global environment.
"The refresh of our GEMR team underscores our commitment to delivering sharp, actionable insights for our customers. The creation of four dedicated teams reflects the need to help our customers navigate the increasingly complex and evolving economic landscape," said Mr Yeaman.
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