Abheek Barua is currently the Chief Economist and Executive Vice President at HDFC Bank, located in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. He has held this position for a remarkable 16 years and 5 months, starting in July 2007. Additionally, Abheek has been serving as the Chief Economist for HDFC Bank since June 2007, based in the Delhi Area, India.
EDUCATION
Abheek Barua’s academic journey includes a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Maryland at College Park, which he completed between 1992 and 1994.
CAREER
HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank with 4000 branches and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is extensively engaged in various banking domains, ranging from micro-finance to investment banking. Abheek’s role includes membership in the apex Asset Liability Committee (ALCO), the risk committee, and heading currency and interest research and advisory functions. His responsibilities extend to advising a wide spectrum of clients, from small family businesses to India’s largest conglomerates and transnational companies, on economic and financial matters, as well as formulating appropriate strategies to address these challenges. He is also the bank’s official spokesperson on media issues, particularly related to monetary policy and interest rate decisions. Notably, HDFC Bank FX research was acclaimed as the best among domestic research houses by the Asiamoney 2014 poll and secured the second position in 2016. In 2016, he was recognized as the Best Rupee Forecaster in India by Bloomberg.
Before joining HDFC Bank, Abheek Barua served as the Vice President at ABN AMRO Bank N.V., located in Mumbai, from October 2004 to July 2007. During his tenure, he held the position of Chief Economist and Vice President, responsible for advising the core management committee on strategic decisions and participating in the bank’s asset liability committee (ALCO) to manage the bank’s balance sheet. He also led interest rate and currency research and served as an advisor to the bank’s head office in Amsterdam, particularly on country ratings. Abheek also worked as a strategist for ABN-AMRO equities during this time.
