ING has appointed its current chief risk officer Steven van Rijswijk to take over from Ralph Hamers as CEO and chairman from July 1. Hamers will leave ING to join UBS, where he will become CEO later in the year.

Van Rijswijk joined ING in 1995 and, the bank says, has played a key role in the strengthening ING’s gatekeeper role and the progress of ING’s model, data and analytics capabilities.

‘With almost 25 years at ING, of which three on the executive board, Steven has shown to have the right combination of experience, leadership skills and deep understanding of our business to lead ING into the next phase of our strategic direction,’ supervisory board chairman Hans Wijers said in a statement.

Van Rijswijk was regarded by insiders as the safe candidate, given his wide experience within the bank.

In an online interview, the new CEO said he is ‘looking forward to further build on our efforts to strengthen ING and enhance our position as one of Europe’s leading digital banks.’

And in a veiled reference to the bank’s €775m fine for failing to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering rules, Van Rijswijk said: ‘Financial economic crime travels beyond single banks and single borders. But combating it starts with us: we have to do the right thing and I will continue to focus on this area, also in my new role.’