Nikita Bhavan

• Actively contributed to bank stress testing for the 6 major South African financial institutions.
• Enhanced stress testing frameworks for liquidity, solvency, and balance sheet risks.
• Conducted portfolio risk monitoring and balance sheet analysis on bank submissions to evaluate risk vulnerabilities and deliver actionable insights to senior stakeholders.
• Collaborated with regulatory and supervisory stakeholders on financial stability monitoring, risk frameworks, and policy development.
• Identified and reported potential systemic risks and exposure concentrations within the non-bank financial institution sector.
• Contributed to South Africa’s submissions to the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Non-Expert’s Monitoring Group (NMEG), including quantitative risk data collection and portfolio analysis.
• Developed climate stress testing frameworks to assess banking sector credit risk and portfolio vulnerabilities.
• Developed econometric models using R and EViews for Climate Risk Stress Testing, analysing macro-financial impacts on banks’ balance sheets.
• Integrated climate risk models and data visuals into portfolio stress testing processes to enhance risk analysis.
• Presented financial risk insights and portfolio vulnerability assessments to executive committtees, including the Reserve Bank Governor, to inform policy decisions.

• Designed and implemented South Africa’s first central-bank crypto-asset monitoring framework to evaluate systemic market risk exposures and inform regulatory policy development.
• Developed analytical dashboards integrating on-chain and exchange-reported data to enable near real-time monitoring of crypto-asset market risks and liquidity volatility.
• Contributed to internal assessments of financial stability implications of digital assets and emerging payment technologies.
• Monitored international regulatory and central bank developments related to DLT-based financial infrastructures.
• Drafted a market concentration framework to evaluate portfolio risk concentrations within the South African financial sector and inform proactive policy interventions.

• Advised government on economic policies addressing global inflation, 65.5% youth unemployment, debt servicing costs, and public sector wage disparities.
• Developed econometric models using EViews, Stata, and Excel to analyse economic trends and fiscal policies.
• Authored research reports and presentations for government stakeholders, supporting evidence-based fiscal policy decisions.
• Monitored global and local market risks to develop policy recommendations, integrating regional and sector-specific insights.
• Collaborated with Head of Research to compile annual policy submission packs for public release and government implementation.

• National Research Foundation Honours B-Tech Scarce Skill Scholarship
• College of Business and Economics Honours Research Competition - Finalist Award (83%)

Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) - Level 1