ING, a Dutch multinational bank, announced today that its Chief Financial Officer, Koos Timmermans, will step down from his position. The resignation comes off the back of news earlier this month that the Dutch bank has agreed to pay fines and other payments totalling €775 million ($900 million) in relation to money laundering.
An investigation into ING found that between 2010 and 2016, a lingerie trader, a building-materials supplier and two fruit and vegetable importers laundered hundreds of millions of euros through their accounts with the Dutch bank.
The bank missed the signs of this activity because of “serious and repeated shortcomings” in its approach to anti-money-laundering rules. During the investigation period, Timmermans was a member of the ‘Management Board Banking’ and ultimately responsible for ING Netherlands for several years. It is for this reason he will be stepping down, the statement said.
Commenting on the resignation, Hans Wijers, chairman of the bank’s supervisory board, said: “Given the seriousness of the matter and the many reactions among stakeholders since the announcement and in the interest of the bank, we came to the conclusion it is appropriate that responsibility is taken at Executive Board level.
We have a serious task ahead of us and the Executive Board is fully committed to completing the various initiatives we have started at ING Netherlands to further strengthen our handling of compliance risks.
We want to thank Koos for his many years of dedication to ING. His efforts to align the bank’s balance sheet with new and upcoming regulation have strongly contributed to the robust financial foundation ING has today. On behalf of all at ING, we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”
Koos Timmermans’ career at ING
Timmermans joined the Dutch bank in 1996. He has been a member of the executive team since 2007 when he was appointed as the bank’s first chief risk officer. From there he went on to become vice-chairman of the Management Board Banking in 2011 and in 2014 he assumed the responsibility for the ‘market leaders’ division. Last year, Timmermans was again promoted, this time to CFO.
The bank has already begun looking for a replacement. He will remain in his position until regulatory approval has been granted for the new candidate and the proper succession process is completed.
