Besa Deda

Besa is the Chief Economist of Westpac’s Business Bank. She is also the Chief Economist of St.George Bank, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA and BT, which are other businesses within the Westpac Group. Besa has been with the Group as a Chief Economist since 2009 and is a key spokesperson on the economy and financial markets. She manages a team of economists, regularly presents to clients and appears in the media. Besa is also the Chair of the Australian Business Economists, an organisation committed to fostering economic debate on economic issues and policy matters. Besa was appointed the Chief Economist of St.George Bank in 2008, a role which saw her become the first female Chief Economist of a bank in Australia. Prior to this, she had specialised roles in fixed income, currency strategy, macroeconomics and equities at the Commonwealth Bank. Besa has also worked for the Colonial Group in market risk and economics. She has previously lectured for FINSIA and the SIA and written a regular property column for the Weekend Australian. Besa holds an economics degree with honours from the University of Sydney and a master’s degree in applied finance from Macquarie University.