BNK Banking Corporation has appointed Steve Kinsella as chief executive officer, confirming him in the role on a permanent basis after a period of interim leadership. The Australian branchless bank announced the appointment in a statement to the market on 14 August 2026, saying it took effect immediately and remained subject to final regulatory approvals.
The same statement confirmed Judith Newman as chief financial officer on a permanent basis, completing the bank's senior executive line up.
Kinsella had led the lender on an interim basis since 2 April 2026, when BNK told the market that Allan Savins would step down as chief executive. The board said it reviewed both roles before removing the interim titles, framing the decision as an orderly transition that secures continuity at the top of the company rather than a change of direction.
In its statement the board said the confirmations recognised the contribution, leadership and performance of the two executives, both during the interim period and across their broader tenures with the company. It added that it had great confidence in their abilities to continue driving the company's strategy and supporting its future growth and performance.
BNK chairman Jon Denovan said the appointments brought certainty to the leadership team after a period of change, and that he was comfortable the bank was well served by securing the continued involvement of the two key individuals.
Kinsella joined BNK as chief financial officer in November 2023 and stepped up to the interim chief executive role in April. The bank has said he played a significant part in its recent turnaround and return to profitability, a record the board cited in making the appointment permanent.
He brings more than three decades of banking experience to the job, spanning the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bankwest and ABN Amro, with roles in Australia and overseas. At Commonwealth Bank of Australia he spent seven years as chief financial officer of institutional banking and markets, followed by six years as chief financial officer of business and private banking. Before joining that bank he spent a decade in chief financial officer positions at ABN Amro across Australia, the Asia Pacific region and London.
The finance background is directly relevant to the job he now holds. BNK is a branchless bank listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, and it distributes deposit and lending products through a national broker network, aggregator partnerships and digital channels rather than through a branch footprint. That model puts margin management, funding costs and disciplined balance sheet work at the centre of the chief executive role, and those are the areas Kinsella has spent his career in.
The commercial task is to keep the recovery going while the bank pushes further into higher margin lending and leans harder on its broker and digital distribution. For a lender of its size, competing against the major banks in the Australian mortgage market, the credibility of the executive team with brokers, aggregators, depositors and regulators is itself a competitive asset, and the board has moved to lock that in rather than run an external search.
As part of the appointment, Kinsella's notice period was extended from three months to six months, while his other remuneration terms were left unchanged. The bank said its financial results for the year ended 30 June were due on 27 August, the first set of numbers to be presented under the permanent leadership arrangement.
