Matt Comyn

Matt Comyn is an Australian banking executive serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country's largest bank by market capitalization, since 9 April 2018.^[1] Born in 1975 in Paddington, Sydney, Comyn attended Sydney Boys High School before earning a Bachelor of Aviation and a Master of Commerce (majoring in finance) from the University of New South Wales, followed by an Executive MBA from the University of Sydney.^[2][1] After graduating, he spent seven months in a small aviation logistics business before joining CBA in 1999, beginning a career spanning over 25 years in banking across business, institutional, retail, and wealth management sectors.^[3][4] Comyn's ascent at CBA included key roles such as Managing Director of CommSec from 2006 to 2010, where he modernized the technology platform and expanded market share and profitability, and Group Executive of Retail Banking Services from 2012 to 2018, overseeing the bank's largest profit division (accounting for over 50% of earnings) and driving digital product development.^[4] As CEO, he has prioritized delivering world-class digital customer experiences, robust risk management, and commitment to service amid regulatory reforms, digital transformation, and economic challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic; his leadership was extended in October 2025 to continue at least until 2028.^[4][5][6]

Early life and education

Early years

Matt Comyn was born in 1975 in Paddington, an inner-city suburb of eastern Sydney.^[2] He grew up in Sydney's inner-city areas, including Paddington, raised by his single mother alongside his sister.^[7] His mother, who retrained as an accountant after his birth, later established a successful tax practice that supported the family.^[7] These humble beginnings in a modest household shaped his early years in the vibrant, working-class environment of inner Sydney.^[7]

Formal education

Matt Comyn attended Sydney Boys High School in Sydney, completing his secondary education there in the early 1990s.^[2] He pursued higher education at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where he earned a Bachelor of Aviation, focusing on aspects of aviation management and operations.^[8][9] Comyn later returned to UNSW to obtain a Master of Commerce with a major in finance, building a foundation in financial principles and economic analysis that complemented his initial aviation studies.^[8][9] Advancing his executive capabilities, Comyn completed an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) from the University of Sydney, emphasizing global business strategy and leadership.^[8][9] Additionally, he participated in the General Management Program at Harvard Business School, a intensive executive development initiative designed to enhance strategic decision-making and organizational leadership skills.^[8][9]

Professional career

Initial roles at CBA

After completing his university studies, Matt Comyn spent 18 months working in a small aviation logistics business, gaining initial professional experience in operations and supply chain management.^[3] In 1999, at the age of 24, Comyn joined the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) as a Business Analyst in the Institutional Banking division, marking his entry into the banking sector.^[10][2] His early responsibilities involved analytical work supporting large corporate clients and financial institutions. Comyn's first project at CBA focused on developing an actuarial model for car insurance ratings, a task that required him to build foundational skills in data analysis and financial modeling despite his limited prior experience in technology.^[10] Over the next several years, Comyn advanced rapidly within CBA's institutional and markets divisions, taking on roles that honed his expertise in trading, equities, and digital financial services. By 2006, at approximately age 31, he had progressed to the position of Managing Director of CommSec, CBA's flagship online stockbroking platform and Australia's largest at the time, where he oversaw operations for a business serving retail and institutional investors.^[1][11] In this role, Comyn led efforts to modernize the platform's technology infrastructure, enhancing its competitiveness in the growing online trading market.^[8] In 2010, after over a decade at CBA, Comyn briefly departed for a seven-month stint as CEO of Morgan Stanley Australia's wealth management business, seeking international exposure and new challenges in investment banking.^[12] This short tenure allowed him to broaden his perspective on global financial services before returning to CBA later that year.^[13]

Mid-career progression

In late 2010, Matt Comyn returned to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) after a brief stint at Morgan Stanley, taking on the role of Executive General Manager responsible for local business banking within the Business and Private Banking division.^[3] This position marked his re-entry into senior leadership at the bank, where he focused on enhancing services for small and medium-sized enterprises, contributing to the division's growth amid competitive pressures in the Australian banking sector.^[3] In 2012, Comyn advanced to Group Executive, Retail Banking Services, a division that accounted for approximately half of CBA's overall profit at the time.^[9] This role involved directing consumer lending, deposits, and digital banking initiatives for millions of retail customers, emphasizing innovation in customer experience and risk management.^[9] Throughout his mid-career tenure from 2011 to 2018, Comyn was increasingly positioned as a leading internal candidate and potential successor to CEO Ian Narev, gaining exposure to the bank's executive leadership team and strategic decision-making processes.^[14]

Appointment and tenure as CEO

On January 29, 2018, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) announced that Matt Comyn would succeed Ian Narev as chief executive officer, effective April 9, 2018.^[9] At the time of the announcement, Comyn was 42 years old, making him the youngest CEO in the bank's history.^[15][10] Prior to this role, Comyn had served as group executive for retail banking services since 2012.^[9] Upon assuming the CEO position, Comyn's initial priorities centered on addressing the fallout from the ongoing Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, which had exposed widespread issues in the sector.^[16] He emphasized implementing reforms to strengthen governance, risk management, and accountability, while fostering cultural changes to rebuild trust and prioritize customer financial wellbeing.^[9] Comyn testified before the Royal Commission in November 2018, committing to transparency and cooperation amid scrutiny of CBA's past practices.^[17] Throughout his tenure, Comyn has adopted a hands-on leadership style, often described as one where he "gets his hands dirty" by directly engaging with operational challenges.^[15] This approach underscores his emphasis on customer-centric strategies and driving innovation in a technology-driven banking landscape.^[9] In October 2025, CBA chair Paul O'Malley announced an extension of Comyn's contract, securing his role until at least 2028 and potentially marking a full decade as CEO.^[18][6]

Leadership and achievements

Strategic initiatives

Under Matt Comyn's leadership as CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), starting in April 2018 amid heightened regulatory scrutiny from the 2017-2019 Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, the bank undertook a comprehensive overhaul of its risk management and compliance frameworks. This included the implementation of a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) in response to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) Prudential Inquiry, which addressed over three-quarters of its milestones by 2020, focusing on fostering a risk culture emphasizing accountability, empowerment, and constructive challenge. Key changes involved strengthening governance through clearer accountability lines, introducing a Code of Conduct that prompts decision-makers to consider "Should We?" alongside "Can We?", and integrating risk outcomes into executive remuneration to prioritize non-financial risks such as operational and compliance issues. Additionally, CBA enhanced its financial crime prevention capabilities and expanded its SpeakUP whistleblowing program to encourage anonymous reporting of conduct concerns, delivering over $730 million in customer remediation since 2015 as part of broader efforts to rebuild trust.^[19] Comyn accelerated CBA's digital transformation to deliver global-best technology experiences, with significant investments in AI and machine learning for personalized customer services. The CommBank app, used by 6.3 million customers as of December 2020, incorporated AI-driven features like the 'For You' personalization engine, which integrates internal data with external services to offer tailored insights, and tools such as Bill Sense—utilized by 1.5 million users to predict over 60 million bills daily—and the Coronavirus Money Plan, adopted by 400,000 customers for cash flow management during the pandemic. Mobile app enhancements also included the Benefits Finder, which facilitated 2.9 million visits and unlocked $150 million in government benefits, alongside BizExpress Online for rapid business funding up to $100,000 in 12 minutes. Supporting these were strategic moves like the acquisition of Doshii to streamline hospitality payments and the launch of x15ventures, which incubated four ventures and acquired a fifth in its inaugural year, while pursuing Open Banking accreditation to empower customer data control.^[20] In sustainable finance, Comyn expanded CBA's ESG integration through targeted green lending programs, beginning with the 2019 Green Mortgage Initiative that offered $500 cashback to homebuyers with certified energy-efficient properties, followed by the bank's first $150 million sustainability-linked loan to an infrastructure project tied to environmental performance metrics. This evolved into the 2024 Business Green Loan, enabling companies to finance emissions-reducing assets, climate resilience measures, and natural resource protection, aligning with CBA's net zero emissions commitment by 2050 for its lending portfolio. These initiatives reflect a broader strategy to engage customers in carbon opportunities and sustainability-linked lending, reducing exposure to high-emission sectors like oil and gas from $3.3 billion in 2022 to $800 million by 2025.^[21][22][23] Comyn restructured CBA's executive leadership team shortly after his appointment, announcing six key appointments and changes in June 2018 to streamline operations amid demerger plans for the wealth management division and refocus on core banking. This included elevating roles in institutional banking and markets while fostering ongoing talent development programs to build internal capabilities in digital and risk areas. Subsequent updates, such as those in October 2024, continued this renewal to support strategic priorities like customer-centric innovation.^[24][25] Drawing from his personal philosophy, Comyn has emphasized psychological and physical training to enhance executive resilience, applying these principles organization-wide through coaching on human performance optimization. Collaborating with performance advisor Andrew May, he incorporates cognitive skills training, stress management, and recovery strategies into leadership development, viewing resilience as essential for navigating high-stakes decisions in a dynamic regulatory environment. This approach extends to CBA's broader cultural shift, promoting mental fitness and energy management among senior teams to sustain long-term performance.^[26][27]

Financial performance under leadership

Under Matt Comyn's leadership as CEO since April 2018, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) achieved record annual cash net profit after tax (NPAT) figures in multiple years, surpassing A$10 billion for the first time in FY2022 with A$10.1 billion, followed by A$10.2 billion in FY2023 and a new high of A$10.25 billion in FY2025.^[28][29] These results reflected resilient revenue growth amid rising interest rates and lending volumes, with home lending increasing 6.1% and business lending 12.2% in FY2025 alone.^[29] In Q1 FY2026, CBA reported unaudited cash NPAT of approximately A$2.6 billion, up 2% year-on-year.^[30] CBA's market capitalization expanded significantly during Comyn's tenure, growing from approximately A$127 billion in 2018 to A$263 billion as of November 2025, solidifying its position as Australia's largest bank by market value.^[31][32] This growth was driven by consistent earnings and investor confidence, with CBA maintaining a price-to-earnings ratio of around 27.2, among the highest globally for major banks.^[33] During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBA navigated economic disruptions with robust capital reserves, reporting a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 10.7% in mid-2020—well above regulatory minimums—and increasing it to 11.6% by year-end, enabling sustained support for customers through deferred payments and liquidity measures.^[34][35] Dividend stability was preserved, with the bank paying the maximum allowable fully franked dividends under regulatory caps, including A$3.5 billion in interim payouts in 2020, and resuming full growth thereafter without cuts in subsequent years.^[36][28] Post-royal commission reforms implemented under Comyn's oversight led to measurable improvements in customer experience, with CBA maintaining the top Net Promoter Score (NPS) rank in consumer banking for 26 consecutive quarters through mid-2025 and setting an ambitious target of +30 by 2023—though actual scores improved from around +4 to +8.4 but remained below the target.^[37][38][39] Complaint volumes also declined, dropping 11% in 2021 from prior levels and continuing to trend lower as remediation efforts addressed misconduct issues, with over A$3.6 billion repaid to 1.4 million customers by 2022.^[40][41] CBA's ordinary shares appreciated substantially over Comyn's tenure, rising from approximately A$75 at the start of 2018 to A$157 as of November 2025, representing approximately a 109% increase despite volatility in 2020.^[42] This performance underscored the bank's enhanced market position and operational efficiency.^[43]

Public and regulatory engagements

Matt Comyn, as CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), provided testimony during the seventh round of public hearings at the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry in November 2018, where he acknowledged the bank's failures in areas such as insurance sales to unemployed customers and commission-driven lending practices that encouraged larger loans than necessary.^[17][44] He described the bank as having been distracted by short-term priorities, leading to an escalating cycle of misconduct, and committed to cultural reforms to address these issues.^[44] In October 2018, Comyn also faced questioning before a parliamentary committee on banking misconduct, delivering a mea culpa on failures in judgment, processes, leadership, and greed within CBA.^[45] Comyn has advocated for regulatory reforms in the banking sector to strike a balance between fostering innovation and ensuring consumer protection, particularly emphasizing responsible lending arrangements following the royal commission's findings.^[46] In 2024, he supported capping broker commissions to align with banker bonus restrictions, arguing this would promote fairer practices while maintaining industry competitiveness during a parliamentary committee hearing.^[47] He has also pushed for broader economic reforms, including income tax cuts and a higher goods and services tax (GST), to enhance productivity without compromising financial stability.^[48] In public statements, Comyn has addressed key economic challenges in Australia, warning of the impacts of interest rate fluctuations on households and businesses while highlighting persistent cost-of-living pressures. On housing affordability, he expressed significant concern in 2025, stressing that supply shortages remain the primary issue despite measures like adjustments to student debt calculations, and noted that recent interest rate declines have provided some relief but not resolved underlying affordability constraints.^[49][50] Earlier, in 2021, he downplayed fears of a housing price bubble driven by low interest rates, attributing market growth to pent-up demand rather than speculative excess.^[51] Through media interviews and speeches, Comyn has outlined banking's pivotal role in Australia's post-COVID-19 national recovery, emphasizing support for vulnerable customers via loan deferrals and financial assistance programs during the pandemic's height in 2020.^[52] In a November 2020 Sky News interview, he committed CBA to leading economic recovery efforts by aiding communities and maintaining financial stability amid ongoing challenges.^[53] He expressed optimism about the rebound in August 2020, stating that Australia was well-positioned to navigate the economic fallout, though recovery timelines would extend longer than initially anticipated.^[52] Comyn has engaged extensively with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on capital requirements, particularly following APRA's 2018 prudential inquiry into CBA's governance, culture, and accountability, which resulted in a $1 billion addition to the bank's operational risk capital charge.^[54] In response, he endorsed the inquiry's recommendations and pledged full implementation of remedial actions to improve risk management.^[55] APRA reduced this add-on to $500 million in November 2020, recognizing CBA's progress, a move Comyn welcomed as validation of the bank's reforms.^[56] The charge was fully lifted in September 2022, with APRA citing sustained improvements in CBA's operational resilience under Comyn's leadership.^[57]

Other activities

Board and advisory roles

Matt Comyn has served as a director on the board of the Business Council of Australia (BCA) since 2021, where he contributes to policy discussions on economic growth, productivity, and workforce development.^[58][4] In this role, Comyn has advocated for tax reforms to boost investment and labor market participation, including proposals to lower income taxes, raise the goods and services tax, and impose levies on multinational tech firms to address Australia's productivity challenges.^[59] He has also highlighted the strength of the labor market amid economic recovery, emphasizing business investment and cost management as key drivers of sustainable growth during BCA forums and related events.^[60] Comyn is a director of the Financial Markets Foundation for Children (FMFC), a nonprofit organization that raises funds from Australia's financial sector to support health and welfare projects for children.^[61] Established in 1990, the FMFC allocates grants to medical research and community initiatives, having distributed over $33 million to more than 260 projects, including major endowments to universities for pediatric health advancements.^[62] As a director, Comyn serves on the board that oversees the foundation's operations, which are volunteer-led to ensure all donations directly fund children's causes without administrative overhead.^[61] Beyond these directorships, Comyn holds no publicly documented advisory roles in the aviation sector following his early career experience there, nor additional formal advisory positions in finance outside his primary responsibilities at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.^[3] However, as CEO of Australia's largest bank since 2018, he frequently participates in industry forums, including as a speaker at Australian Financial Review summits.^[63] These engagements, such as the annual Banking Summit, allow him to address topics like regulatory resilience, AI integration in finance, and trade policy impacts on the sector.^[64] In November 2024, Comyn joined the Champions of Change Coalition as a champion advocating for gender equality and women's leadership in Australian workplaces.^[65]

Philanthropy and community involvement

Matt Comyn serves as a director of the Financial Markets Foundation for Children, where he contributes to efforts supporting medical research and healthcare initiatives for Australian children.^[61] Under his leadership as CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the bank has channeled resources through the foundation and other programs, including employee-driven fundraising like Can4Cancer, which has raised over $20 million for cancer research benefiting children and families.^[66] Comyn has advocated for enhanced financial literacy, notably through CBA's longstanding commitments such as the 2015 pledge of $50 million to improve financial education in schools across Australia, including programs like Start Smart workshops aimed at building essential money management skills for students.^[67][68] These initiatives target broader community education, with a focus on equipping younger generations in diverse settings. Reflecting his personal background of being raised by a single mother, Comyn has supported measures aiding single-parent families, including CBA's endorsement of the Australian government's Family Home Guarantee scheme, which enables eligible single parents with dependents to purchase homes with a 2% deposit.^[26][69] Additionally, CBA's Next Chapter program, launched in 2020 under his direction, provides financial tools and support to survivors of domestic and family violence—many of whom are single parents—helping them achieve economic independence.^[70] In 2025, Comyn endorsed CBA's FY26–28 Reconciliation Action Plan, which outlines commitments to reconciliation with First Nations peoples, including cultural safety training and increased procurement from Indigenous businesses targeting $100 million in spend over three years.^[71][72]

Personal life

Comyn is married to Lucy-Ellen, an Englishwoman, and they have three children: two daughters and one son. The family resides in Sydney.^[7][8]