SBS banking group chief executive Wayne Evans has died suddenly. He was 49.
A bank spokesperson said Mr Evans died on Wednesday afternoon of natural causes.
He had been chief executive of the Invercargill-based group since August 2014 and had previously worked in a finance company, a local body commercial operation and the ANZ Bank.
Mr Evans, who swam Foveaux Strait between Bluff and Stewart Island in 2013, is survived by his wife and four sons.