Wim Mijs, Chief Executive of the Dutch Banking Association, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the European Banking Federation. He will succeed Guido Ravoet, who is retiring from the EBF per 1 September. The appointment was agreed today in Athens by the Board of the EBF.

Mr Mijs has been CEO of the Dutch Banking Association, known as NVB, since 2007. In this role he also chaired the Executive Committee of the EBF between 2012 and 2014. In 2011 he was appointed chairman of the International Banking Federation in London.

"I'm honoured to represent the European banking sector during these interesting times," he said. "The European banking sector is going through a crucial period of time with regulatory overhaul, the establishment of the Banking Union and the centralised supervision from Frankfurt. The biggest challenge for the EBF will be to restore trust in the sector as a catalyst for recovery and economic growth and also to explain the importance of banking and its role in the economy and society."

"Wim is familiar to the EBF and its stakeholders. We have a strong trust in that he, with his experiences and skills, will contribute in a very good way to the further development of the EBF and serve its members," said Christian Clausen, President of the EBF. "On behalf of the EBF Board, I would like to thank Guido Ravoet for a very dedicated and appreciated contribution to the EBF organisation over several years and in a challenging period of time," he said.

Mr Ravoet will stay on as Secretary General of Euribor-EBF, which is in the process of being renamed as the European Monetary Market Institute, or EMMI.

"It was both a privilege and a challenge to defend the interests of European banks during this turbulent period of regulatory reforms in the wake of the financial crisis," said Mr Ravoet. "I’m looking forward to meeting a similar challenge with regards to the regulatory reforms of financial benchmarks."

Photographs and a biography for Mr Wim Mijs are available in the EBF Press Room.

About the EBF: Launched in 1960, the European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector from countries in the European Union and the European Free Trade Association. Members of the federation are 32 national banking associations. The EBF represents the interests of some 4,500 banks, large and small, wholesale and retail, local and cross-border financial institutions. Together these banks account for over 80 percent of the total assets and deposits and some 80 percent of all bank loans in the EU alone.