ING chief executive, Jan Hommen, will step down from his position on 1 October 2013. He will be succeeded by Ralph Hamers who is currently CEO of ING Belgium.

Hommen became CEO in 2009 and his four-year term office expires after the annual general meeting on 13 May 2013. The supervisory board will propose that he is re-appointed for the period up to 1 October, to ensure a smooth handover.

The changes come at what has been a busy time for the Netherlands-headquartered firm, which has extensive operations in regions such as Asia-Pacific. The firm recently reported that its underlying net profit in 2012 was €2.603 billion, down 5.2 per cent from a year earlier

Appointment.

Hamers will be appointed to the executive board at the AGM, at which point he will also become a member of the management boards of the banking insurance EurAsia operations. Decisions regarding the composition of the Board of Directors of ING US are pending in light of the company's planned IPO.

Hamers has been CEO of ING Belgium and Luxemburg since March 2011. He joined ING in 1991 as a relationship manager for structured finance in the global clients division. His subsequent roles include general manager of ING Romania, CEO of ING Bank in the Netherlands, global head of the commercial banking network and head of network management for retail banking direct and international. Since 2012 he has been member of the ING banking management team which governs corporate development and strategic activities.