Astha Funda

About Astha Funda

Astha possesses a decade long experience in BFSI viz. Sovereign and Institutional Risk Analysis, Credit Risk Analysis, Macroeconomic and Financial Analysis - ESG, Theme-based Equities and Cross Asset Strategy. A detail-oriented, success-driven, seasoned Economist, skilled in Economic Research, Credit Risk, Financial Econometrics, ESG Research, Advanced Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Python, R, LLMs, MLStrong analytics and database management professional adept in deriving business insights-Generating frameworks, strategic insights and providing solutions to business challenges.Hands-on with data mining tools like Haver (MARKIT), Bloomberg, EIU, Refinitiv’s Datastream, EIKON, S&P Capital IQ Pro, FITCH Connect, ProwessIQ, ZoomInfo, EMIS.She also demonstrates good analytical skills. She has automated models using statistical packages like R, MATLAB, Eviews, advanced Excel, built a skill set in Python, AI/ML -LLMs.Skilled in maintaining a constant line of communication with stakeholders as well as clients. She is also a team player. She is, at present, associated with the Natwest Group as a Country and Credit Risk AVP analyzing various countries\' sovereign as well as institutional exposures, assigning internal credit rating to sovereigns and institutions, presenting country views at CRO risk management committees and upgrading the sovereign rating models, conducting sovereign stress testing scenarios and climate change scenarios using automation. She also coaches new joiners and brings them up to speed, conducts quality checks and facilitates training.Prior to this, she worked at CRISIL, as a Senior (Economic and ESG) Research Associate and conducted extensive macroeconomic research for various asset classes and contributed to global research reports for global leading investment banks. Prior to CRISIL, she was working with Office of Economic Adviser, Govt of India and was tracking macroeconomic indicators like WPI, IIP and other 8 core industrial indicators.Astha holds a Masters of Science (MSc) focused in Financial Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune and an honors degree in Economics from the University of Delhi, New Delhi, India. She looks forward to connecting with professionals in the field of Sovereign Risk, Stress Testing, Sustainable Development, Macroeconomic Research, Econometric and statistical modelling, Financial Research, Data Sciences, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Risk and Analytics, Risk Management and Thought Leadership for greater opportunities and a deeper learning experience.

Experience

1. Associate Vice President - Country & Financial Institutional Credit Risk

   NatWest Group

   Apr 2024 — Present · Gurugram, IN

   Analysing Country/Sovereign Credit Risk as well as exposure limits and assessing institutional exposure risk

Education

• Delhi University

  B.A. (Honors), Economics

• Glenhill Public School

  Kindergarten, Kindergarten/Preschool Education

• Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics

  MSc (Master's degree), Financial Economics

• Tagore International School (Vasant Vihar)

  AISSCE, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Economics and English

Skills

• Public Speaking
• Microsoft Excel
• Powerpoint
• Customer Service
• Microsoft Office
• Gretl
• Economic Research
• Capital Budgeting
• Economic Development
• Microsoft Word
• Eviews
• Leadership
• Econometric Modeling
• Sas Programming
• R