Ms. Laura Britt-Fermo joined AMRO in February 2024 and is currently a Senior Economist of the Technical Assistance Team. She previously served as Deputy Group Head and Senior Economist in the Regional Surveillance team, and subsequently as Acting Head of the Macro-Financial Research Group.
She has extensive expertise in central banking, monetary policy analysis, financial stability, and systemic risk management. Her research interests include econometric approaches for central banking and monetary policy analyses, foreign direct investment, capital flows and trade policy, and emerging areas like climate change initiatives and sustainable finance in ASEAN+3.
Prior to joining AMRO, Ms. Fermo held several senior positions at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), including Senior Economist in the Department of Economic Research – Monetary Policy Research Group; Macroeconomics and Financial Technical Specialist to the Monetary Board; and Head of the Quantitative Studies and Research Staff at the Office of Systemic Risk Management. In 2021, she became a pioneering Principal Researcher/Director at the BSP Research Academy.
She also served as Programs Officer at the Asian Development Bank Philippine Country Office and as Senior Economist in the Economic Analysis Group of the San Miguel Corporation Corporate Planning Office. Her academic career includes a two-year tenure as a lecturer at the University of the Philippines School of Economics (UPSE).
Ms. Fermo holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Keio University, Japan, as well as a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics from UPSE.