Mr Pearson was a shareholder in the big four bank in 2021 when the Andrews government included it on a three-bank panel to deliver the state's banking and financial services.
He insists the contract was independently awarded by the Department of Treasury and Finance and he played no part in the decision-making process but conceded it was an "error of judgment".Â
"I recognise this could give rise to a potential of a perception of a conflict of interest and for that I unreservedly apologise," Mr Pearson told reporters at parliament.
Mr Pearson has spoken with Premier Daniel Andrews and advised him he will place all of his shareholders in a blind trust.
The Commonwealth Bank shareholdings were disclosed by Mr Pearson to parliament and the Essendon MP said he had held them for over a decade.
Mr Pearson said it did not occur to him that he held the shares when announcing the banking services contract.
Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell said the decision directly benefited Mr Pearson.
"Any number of times he has stood in this very spot, holier than thou, pontificating about what is right and wrong and his opinion," he said.
"And today the bloke's been effectively caught with his hand in the cookie jar."
The revelation comes after Damien Tudehope last week resigned as NSW finance minister after declaring he owned shares in toll road owner Transurban, the company that operates most of Sydney's toll roads.
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas in 2019 offloaded his Transurban shares, held in a Westpac BlueChip20 fund, after the Victorian government awarded the toll road giant billions to build Melbourne's West Gate Tunnel.
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