Commonwealth Bank names new CEO
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Former banker and airline executive Ralph Norris will take the helm of Australia's second largest bank, the Commonwealth Bank, at a time of increasing competition and slowing housing growth.
Norris, the current chief executive of Air New Zealand, will replace David Murray, who retires later this year after 13 years heading the bank.
Under Murray, who started work as a teller in 1966, the Commonwealth Bank has grown to rival the National Australia Bank as the country's largest bank by market value.
It has consistently outperformed the benchmark S&P/ASX200 stock index, with its shares hitting a high of $38.51 last week. They are trading at $38.32 at midday Tuesday.
Working for the Commonwealth Bank will not be a first for Norris, who was managing director of the Commonwealth's New Zealand operations, ABS Bank Ltd, for 10 years.
Commonwealth Chairman John Schubert said Tuesday that Murray had suggested that a handover now would allow a new CEO time to develop a post-2006 strategy for the bank.
Norris said he was "honored and pleased" to rejoin the Commonwealth Bank at a time of great opportunity.
Norris is expected to take over before the end of 2005.
Australian banks have experienced 14 years of growth fuelled by a strong housing market, strong employment and low interest rates.
But the housing market has cooled since 2004. The central Reserve Bank of Australia lifted official interest rates in March this year for the first time since December 2003. The benchmark rate now sits at 5.5 percent.
