The Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, supported by KPMG and Swaab Attorneys, was delighted to host a boardroom lunch on 6 September 2018 with Michael Blythe, Chief Economist and Managing Director of Economics, Commonwealth Bank.

Michael led a roundtable discussion on Australia’s general economic outlook and the implications of a potential US-China trade war on the Australian and global economies.

Michael’s extensive experience as an economist reflects more than thirty years working in economic policy and financial-market-related areas. His role encompasses monitoring, analysing and forecasting trends in the Australian economy and financial markets. In addition, he prepares a wide range of research material on matters of current interest. In his capacity as the CBA’s Chief Economist, he is a regular conference presenter and media commentator on major economic developments and themes. Michael and his team have consistently ranked in the top three for macroeconomic analysis advice in various industry polls.

Michael works in the Institutional Banking & Markets division of the Commonwealth Bank, a division responsible for managing the Group’s relationships with major corporate, institutional and government clients and providing a full range of capital raising, transactional and risk management products and services.

After graduating in economics from the University of Sydney in 1982, he spent 13 years in various roles within the Economic Group of the Reserve Bank of Australia which included a stint at the International Monetary Fund in 1988. He was the RBA’s Senior Economist from 1991-95. Key features of these roles involved the provision of economic analysis and policy advice. Michael joined the Commonwealth Bank in 1995.