ADVERTISEMENT

ABN Amro CEO Van Dijkhuizen to Quit When Term Ends in April

ABN Amro CEO Kees Van Dijkhuizen Won't Serve New Term of Office

(Bloomberg) -- ABN Amro Group NV Chief Executive Officer Kees Van Dijkhuizen plans to step down when his term ends next April, finishing his tenure after just over three years at the helm of the state-controlled lender.

Van Dijkhuizen, a former chief financial officer and public servant, was a surprise choice when he took the top job in January 2017, as ABN Amro passed over candidates with much longer experience at the bank.

Amid plans for the bank to restructure and cut jobs, Van Dijkhuizen was chosen for his “strong sense for society,” according to the finance minister at the time.

ABN Amro CEO Van Dijkhuizen to Quit When Term Ends in April

“I’m fully committed to further accelerating the bank’s strategy and pursuing the purpose together with our employees and clients in the months ahead, after which I will be able to pass on the torch in full confidence,” he said in the statement.

ABN Amro was named the “Best Bank in the Netherlands” in 2018 by Euromoney for its digital transformation with its payment app, “Tikkie.”

Return to Market

Van Dijkhuizen, 63, succeeded Gerrit Zalm at the top job when the former Dutch finance minister vacated the post more than a year before the end of his term. Zalm took over the helm at ABN Amro in the depths of the financial crisis in 2009, and returned the company to market through an initial public offering that raised 3.8 billion euros ($4.3 billion).

Since the start of 2017, ABN shares have fallen 11%, compared with the 27% slump in the EURO STOXX Banks (Price) Index. The stock was little changed in Amsterdam trading at 18.91 euros as of 9:14 a.m.

During his tenure, Van Dijkhuizen also stood up to his biggest investor, the Dutch government, which still owns 56% of the bank after the IPO. Van Dijkhuizen said in an interview in Davos this year he’s urged the state to pare down its stake as it had promised investors when it began reducing its holding. Falling prices for European bank stocks and internal turmoil had slowed the state’s exit.

The bank disappointed investors in February when it proposed an unchanged dividend on 2018 earnings after raising expectations of an increase. While the payout rose as a proportion of earnings a decrease in net income wiped out any gain.

ABN Amro said it would start seeking Van Dijkhuizen’s successor “in a timely and orderly manner” and plans to review candidates both within and outside the ban.

Terms for executive committee members will be extended either by two or four years in March 2020, the bank said. Frans Van Der Horst, CEO of retail banking, and Pieter Van Mierlo, CEO of private banking, will have their terms extended by two years, while those of Daphne De Kluis, CEO of commercial banking, and Rutger Van Nouhuijs, will have a four-year extension.

--With assistance from Sebastian Tong.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ruben Munsterman in Amsterdam at rmunsterman1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joost Akkermans at jakkermans@bloomberg.net, Ross Larsen, Dale Crofts

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.