Vittoria Shortt departing ASB after nearly 9 years as CEO to be replaced by Sinead Taylor, currently an executive at ASB's parent CBA

ASB says CEO Vittoria Shortt will leave the bank on December 11 and be succeeded by Sinead Taylor, currently Group Executive for Institutional Banking and Markets at ASB's parent Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).

Shortt has been ASB CEO since February 2018 and with the CBA group since 2002. In August Shortt told interest.co.nz she was enjoying her job despite a tough year in which the bank agreed to pay $135.6 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of its customers, and received the highest anti-money laundering penalty ever imposed by a New Zealand court of $6.731 million.

ASB says the Glasgow born Taylor lived for "a number of years" in New Zealand after moving to Rotorua at the age of nine. Her other roles at CBA have included being Group Executive, Chief Operations Officer and Executive General Manager of Bankwest, as well as roles in global markets, strategy, marketing, business and corporate banking. 

According to her LinkedIn profile, Taylor was Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing in Australia for Lehman Brothers from November 2006 until September 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed, becoming the largest bankruptcy filing in US history during the global financial crisis.

Having worked for CBA from 2000 until 2006, Taylor's LinkedIn profile says she then rejoined the bank after Lehman's demise.

Taylor is the third consecutive ASB CEO who will cross the Tasman from a CBA executive role to take on the job. Shortt was CBA's Group Executive for Marketing and Strategy prior to becoming ASB CEO. Shortt's predecessor Barbara Chapman was CBA's Group Executive for Human Resources and Group Services, including marketing, before returning to ASB as CEO in 2011.

Chapman succeeded Charles Pink, a British banker who joined ASB from the Barbados-based First Caribbean International Bank, and had also worked for Barclays. Pink followed ASB insiders Ralph Norris and Hugh Burrett as CEO.

ASB Chairwoman Therese Walsh says Shortt has led ASB through a period of significant change and challenge including Covid-19, a global explosion in fraud and scams, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, a Commerce Commission banking market study and Select Committee banking inquiry.

"Against this backdrop, ASB has continued to adapt, perform strongly and lay solid foundations for the future. Under Vittoria’s direction, ASB has continued to focus relentlessly on our customers and our purpose to accelerate progress for all New Zealanders," says Walsh.

Shortt says she initially plans to take a break before considering her next move. This will include "some travel, starting with a roadie around New Zealand, and spending more time with my family."

Walsh says Taylor; "has broad experience and an impressive track record and reputation for creating impact, executing ambitious strategies and leading with purpose."

"She has led large teams, implemented complex transformation at scale, strengthened risk management and delivered better outcomes for customers. That combination of customer focus, operational discipline and execution makes her well placed to lead ASB through its next phase.”

ASB's net profit after tax for the June year dropped $51 million, or 4%, to $1.398 billion. CBA says ASB contributed 10% to its annual group cash profit. ASB's cost to income ratio, where the bank's operating costs are divided by its operating income, surged 390 basis points year-on-year to 46.4%. Its net interest margin, the difference between what it borrows money at through the likes of deposits and what it lends it out at, rose three basis points to 2.30%.

 ASB paid CBA annual dividends of $375 million, down from $1.1 billion last year. For the June quarter ASB's return on equity was 9.5%, according to Reserve Bank data, down from 11% in both the March quarter and June 2025 quarter.

CBA's annual financial results said ASB's share of the NZ home loan market rose to 21.3% at June 30 from 21.2% a year earlier. ASB's share of business and rural lending rose to 17.8% from 17.4%, and its share of customer deposits rose to 18.9% from 18.8%.

As of June 30, ASB had 7114 full-time equivalent staff. 

Taylor’s appointment has already been approved by the Reserve Bank, and she's set to move to NZ from Australia to succeed Shortt as CEO and Managing Director on 12 December.

Shortt's departure from ASB closely follows that of another long serving bank CEO, Antonia Watson from ANZ NZ, who finished up on September 11 and has been succeeded by the bank's Chief Risk Officer Ben Kelleher.

CBA's statement on the change at ASB's helm is here.