CBA appoints chief economist

Stephen Halmarick, formerly the chief economist for Colonial First State, has been named the new chief economist for CBA.

Halmarick replaces Michael Blythe, who had been with the bank since 1995.

In a statement to Financial Standard, a CBA spokesperson said, "The role of chief economist and head of global economic & markets research were combined as part of a decision to streamline the global economic & markets research team."

Halmarick shared his gratitude on his LinkedIn page. "It is both an honour and a privilege to have been appointed as chief economist and head of the global economic & markets research team at CBA," he said.

"I would like to thank the many people who have supported, encouraged, guided and helped me along my 35 year career journey as an economist in Australia.

"I truly believe that the CBA economic & markets research team is the best in Australia and that together we will do great things."

Halmarick has experience with Westpac, SBC Australia, and the Citibank Group where he was the co-head of economic and market analysis. He joined CBA in 2018 as managing director and head of global markets research.

Reporting from Ally Selby at Financial Standard contributed to this story.