ABN Amro CEO Gerrit Zalm will step down next year even though his contract runs until 2018, the Financieele Dagblad said on Tuesday, quoting bank sources.

Zalm, a former finance minister, was appointed to head the nationalised bank in 2009 and his contract was renewed in 2014 for four years. At the time, Zalm, 64, said he intended to see out the full period.

However, the FD says that having completed the successful integration of ABN Amro and Fortis Nederland and started the privatisation process, Zalm’s work is now done. In addition, headhunters have completed an analysis of the current board and drawn up a profile of the new chief executive.

Current consumer banking chief Chris Vogelzang who is relatively young at 53, is considered to be the best internal candidate to replace Zalm, the FD said.

Neither the bank nor the finance ministry would comment on the FD’s report.