Ana María Avilés is Lead Economist and Program Leader for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions for Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. She has more than 25 years of experience working in financial-sector policy, macroeconomics, sovereign risk, development financing, development financial institutions, and central bank operations. Over her professional career, Ana Maria has worked at the highest levels of global policy analysis and strategic dialogue, while also bringing to bear economic and financial analytical experience at the project and country level across different regions (e.g. Asia, Latin America, and Africa) and areas of expertise (e.g. financial stability, macro-financial monitoring, credit risk, banking sector, financial inclusion, correspondent banking, digital financial services, capital market development, and infrastructure financing). Prior to her current position, Ana Maria was an advisor to the Managing Director and CFO of the World Bank Group for five years. During her tenure at the World Bank, she also worked as a Country Economist in the Latin American Region and as a Sovereign Risk Analyst for the Credit Risk Department covering countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Before joining the World Bank, she worked for a number of financial institutions including the Inter-American Development Bank (Washington, DC), the London Stock Exchange (London), and Citibank (Sao Paulo). Ana Maria started her career as a trader in the Open Market Operations of the Central Bank in Colombia. She is a Colombian national and holds a master’s degree in international affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a master’s degree in economics from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.
