ABN Amro’s chief executive Robert Swaak is stepping down next year, despite his term being extended for four more years in April.

The bank said in a statement on Thursday that the decision to leave early has been taken together with the supervisory board and that he will go in the first half of 2025.

No reason for the sudden departure was given, with Swaak saying in a press statement that “When I was asked to serve a second term as CEO last year, I considered the possibility that I would make way for a successor at an appropriate time before the end of the term”.

Now that the bank is entering a new strategic period, he said, the supervisory board “should be given the opportunity to find a successor in time”. Until that time, he said, he would continue to “dedicate myself fully to the bank”.

Swaak, who was born in 1960, was appointed SEO in 2020 and was named for a second term, to run until 2028, just three months ago. Prior to that he was an accountant at PwC.