MNI POLICY: RBA Still Looking For New Research Head

The Reserve Bank of Australia is continuing its search for a new head of its economic research department after Dan Rees, adviser to the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, withdrew his candidacy, MNI understands.

The team has lacked permanent leadership since John Simon’s abrupt departure in August 2024 after more than a decade in the role. Claude Lopez, deputy head of financial stability and a former Banque de France economist, has been acting head of the department, though it remains unclear whether she will be permanently appointed.

So far in 2025, the RBA has published three Research Discussion Papers, compared to a typical annual output of around 10. While the department continues to produce internal research, not all of it is publicly released.

The RBA has also recently created a monetary policy strategy department, headed by former deputy head of research Meredith Beechey Osterholm, following the 2023 RBA Review, which called for a stronger research capability akin to that of the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank in supporting monetary policy formulation. (See MNI: RBA Rate Cut Expectations Overblown- Ex-Officials)