New CEO at KBC Bank Ireland plc.

Outside trading hours – Regulated information*

The Board of Directors of KBC Bank Ireland have appointed Mr Peter Roebben as the new Chief Executive Officer of KBC Bank Ireland. Peter Roebben is currently Senior General Manager Group Credit Risk at KBC Group’s Head Office in Brussels. Peter succeeds Mr Wim Verbraeken, the current CEO, as of 1 April 2019.

The nomination of Peter Roebben has received approval from the Central Bank of Ireland and the European Central Bank.  

Fully in line with KBC Group’s expat policy and after more than twenty years of international assignments, Wim Verbraeken, CEO of KBC Bank Ireland since November 2013 subsequent to joining the Bank in June 2013 as CFO/COO, will return to the group in a new position as Senior General Manager at KBC Group’s Head Office in Brussels as of 1 April 2019.

Mr Luc Popelier, Chairman of KBC Bank Ireland, expressed his sincere gratitude to Wim for his leadership, strong performance, the successful transformation of the Bank and the relentless effort he has put in over the last five years - in often challenging circumstances - to effectively deal with the legacy portfolio of KBC Bank Ireland, while at the same time successfully establishing a new digital-first retail and micro-SME focused bank in the Irish market. Mr Luc Popelier wishes him all the best in his new role.

Mr Popelier added: I am delighted to welcome Peter as CEO of KBC Bank Ireland. The Board has chosen a dynamic leader in Peter. He has considerable experience at Senior Management and Executive Board level, an excellent track record and deep knowledge of economic and financial affairs and credit risk management. With this experience he will make an important contribution to the further development of KBC Bank Ireland as it rolls out its digitally led retail and micro-SME focused strategy. I also believe that the Bank will benefit from his broad international experience gained through his time at the KBC Group entities in London, Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Prague and Budapest.

With the support of KBC Group as a strong and committed shareholder, Mr Peter Roebben and his colleagues in Ireland  will ensure the continued growth and success  of KBC  Bank Ireland, to the benefit of its customers, staff and all other stakeholders.

The Bank’s Executive Committee members, consisting of Ms Dara Deering, Executive Director Retail Banking, Mr Frank Jansen, Chief Finance Officer, Mr Tom De Witte, Chief Operations Officer and Mr Barry D’Arcy, Chief Risk Officer, are committed to using their considerable experience at Senior Executive and Board level, excellent track record and in-depth knowledge to support Peter Roebben in his new role as CEO and to ensure a smooth transition.”

 

Mr. Peter Roebben, CEO Designate commented: KBC Bank Ireland is a digital front runner within the KBC Group and I am relishing the opportunity of coming to Dublin and working with the team to provide Irish citizens with cutting edge, digitally led banking services. I am determined that we will be the positive force for choice in the market. 

 

Peter Roebben (born on 28 July 1966) graduated from University of Leuven  (Belgium) in 1986 with a master degree in law. In 1989 he obtained an MBA from Vlerick Business School (Belgium).  

He started his career in 1992 as an account officer Corporate Banking for Kredietbank (now KBC) in London. From 1994 untill 1998 he was Director of the Iberia Representative Office in Madrid. After one year in Brussels as account manager for the group’s Multinationals Division, he became General Manager Corporate Banking in the Paris branch in 1999. From 2005 untill 2010 he was Executive Director Corporate Banking at CSOB Bank in the Czech Republic.

Between 2010 and 2017 he served as Senior Managing Director and member of the Executive Committee of K&H Bank & Insurance in Budapest (Hungary), responsible first for Credit Management and Human Resources, and later for the Business Banking Division, comprising Corporate & SME banking, Financial Markets, Leasing and Factoring. During his tenure he also supervised the Corporate Change & Organisation activities (Enterprise Business Architecture, Operational Excellence, Leadership Activation).

Since 2017 he has been Senior General Manager Group Credit Risk at KBC Group’s Head Office in Brussels. In that role he is responsible for directing and supervising credit risk taking across the KBC group-wide bank and insurance operations of KBC Group, covering retail, SME, corporate, financial institutions and sovereign risk, through the setting and monitoring of group-wide credit risk policies, standards and limits. He is also responsible for the design of transactional credit risk and capital models, and he is  a member of the main credit underwriting committees of KBC.

He is fluent in Dutch, French, English, Spanish and German. He is married with 2 children.

 

KBC Bank Ireland has been operating in Ireland for over 40 years and has been a member of the KBC Group since 1978. It is one of the leading providers of financial services in Ireland and employs over 1,200 staff.

 

* This news item contains information that is subject to the transparency regulations for listed companies.

Contact us
Viviane Huybrecht General Manager KBC Corporate Communication / Spokesperson
Viviane Huybrecht General Manager KBC Corporate Communication / Spokesperson
About KBC Group

In case of doubt or discussion about the content of these press releases, the version published on https://www.kbc.com/en/press-releases counts as the only reference.

KBC Group
Havenlaan 2
B - 1080 Brussels
Belgium