DBS Bank today announced that Taimur Baig will be joining the bank on 9 October as Chief Economist and Managing Director for Group Research. Taimur is a seasoned economist, with close to 20 years’ experience covering the Asia region. His work experience in Singapore and Washington, DC spans central and commercial banks, as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). His areas of specialty include international finance, macro risk spillover, exchange rate and fixed income analytics and forecasting, the economics of financial crisis, and demographics.

Taimur will report to Timothy Wong, Managing Director and Head of DBS Group Research. He takes over from David Carbon, who is retiring.

Prior to joining DBS, Taimur was the Principal Economist at the Economic Policy Group at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). He had previously spent nearly a decade at Deutsche Bank AG’s Singapore office, where his last position was Managing Director and Chief Economist, Asia. There he managed a team of economists based in Singapore, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Bangalore to analyse and forecast Asia’s 10 largest economies. He also advised the bank’s management and top clients on regional risks and opportunities. Taimur joined Deutsche Bank as Chief Economist for India and ASEAN in 2007.

Before Deutsche Bank, Taimur was at the IMF for eight years from 1999, where his last position was Senior Economist. Rotating across the Asia and Pacific, Fiscal Affairs, and European Departments, Taimur’s coverage included macro forecasting, monetary policy and exchange rate in Argentina, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Ukraine. He has published extensively for both specialists and a general audience, on areas including deflation, monetary policy, exchange rate, demographics, energy sector, frontier markets, fiscal policy efficacy and financial market contagion.

Taimur holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and attended Wabash College and the London School of Economics for his B.A.

Said Timothy Wong, “Taimur is a veteran economist with extensive expertise covering Asia. His strong grasp of Asian economies makes him the perfect addition to DBS, recognised as Asia’s Best Bank by several publications. I believe he will make invaluable contributions to the bank’s deep insights on the region. We are pleased to welcome Taimur to the DBS family.

“We would like to thank Dave for his 12 years of service as Chief Economist for DBS. He has built up a strong and credible economics research product and generated many unique and interesting macro insights over his tenure.”

DBS has over 100 economists and research analysts who work together to curate the wealth of information the bank has, and generate meaningful, substantive and actionable insights. The bank publishes over 100 publications monthly for clients and partners, distributed via its websites and portals, client seminars and conferences. DBS further leverages its excellent customer-driven research capability to structure customised financial solutions that position clients and their businesses for greater growth and success in Asia’s dynamic and constantly evolving environment.

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About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings, is among the highest in the world.

DBS is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, and has been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney. The bank has also been recognised for its leadership in the region, having been named “Asia’s Best Bank” by several publications including The Banker, Global Finance, IFR Asia and Euromoney since 2012. In addition, the bank has been named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for nine consecutive years from 2009 to 2017.

DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 22,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.

DBS appoints Taimur Baig as new chief economist