St.george Appoints Justin Smirk As New Chief Economist

St.George appoints Justin Smirk as Chief Economist

St.George Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of Justin Smirk as the Bank's new Chief Economist. Justin replaces St.George Bank's current Chief Economist, Besa Deda, who has taken maternity leave.

Prior to his appointment, Justin was a Senior Economist at Westpac and an Economist with the Reserve Bank of Australia. He joined St.George Bank's Economic Research team in 2009.

Greg Bartlett, St.George Bank's Chief Executive said, "After conducting an extensive market search both internally and externally, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Justin Smirk has been appointed to the role of Chief Economist for St.George Bank while Besa is on maternity leave."

As Chief Economist, Justin will be the Bank's national spokesperson on the global economy, financial markets and local economic conditions. His primary role is to analyse trends in the major economies and their impact on Australia; formulate forecasts on the economy, interest rates and currencies and then brief staff and clients on how current economic events may impact their business.

Justin has worked in financial markets for over ten years and prior to his roles as an Economist, he was employed as a farm consultant in WA in the early 1990s, providing advice to owner operators and managing properties of various investors.

Justin can be contacted on the following numbers for economic commentary:

Phone: 02 9320 5854
Mobile: 0421 221 023
Email: [email protected]

Media contact: Carmen Chivers, St.George Bank
02 9236 2777 or
[email protected]

SOURCE: St.George Bank