CBA Appoints Luke Yeaman as Chief

The Commonwealth Bank is pleased to announce that it has appointed Luke Yeaman as its new Chief Economist and Head of Global Economic and Markets Research.

Mr Yeaman is currently a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Treasury and Head of their Macroeconomic Group, a position he’s held since April 2020. As part of that role, he has responsibility for macroeconomic conditions and forecasting, including inflation, fiscal and macro policy advice, population analysis and climate and energy policy. Mr Yeaman has also served as Australia’s G20 Finance Deputy and represented Australia in a variety of global economic forums. 

Andrew Hinchliff, CBA’s Group Executive for Institutional Banking and Markets said: “Luke brings a deep understanding of the Australian economy and where we sit in the global macroeconomic environment. Luke’s experience representing Australia on the global stage, will be valuable for our clients both at home and abroad.

“As our Chief Economist, Luke will be able to leverage cutting-edge AI technology and one of the most comprehensive financial data sets in the country, that provides our Economics’ team with unparalleled insights into Australia’s macroeconomic environment.”

“We are delighted to welcome Luke to Commonwealth Bank,” he added.

Mr Yeaman will succeed Stephen Halmarick, who announced plans to depart the bank in August. Mr Halmarick has spent 15 years at CBA, serving Chief Economist and Head of Global Economic & Markets Research (GEMR)  since May 2020.

“I want to extend my deep thanks to Stephen Halmarick for his many years of service and his wide-ranging contributions to expanding and improving the range of economic, data-led, actionable insights we offer to our clients to better support their decision-making,” Mr Hinchliff said.

During his tenure, Mr Halmarick pioneered the use of CBA’s own data to extract key insights into the Australian economy on a regular and consistent basis. He developed the CommBank’s Household Spending Insights (HSI) Index and oversaw the growth of the bank’s Sustainable Economics research to support customers with insights about the transition to a lower-carbon future.

Mr Yeaman brings more than 20 years of experience in economic and government roles, holding senior positions in the Treasury, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Office of National Intelligence.

Mr Yeaman, who holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from Monash University, will commence with CBA on 3 March 2025, reporting to the Group Executive for Institutional Banking and Markets.