© linkedinJan Peter Schmittmann, 57, and his wife and daughter were found dead at their home in the Dutch town of Laren, 32 kilometres southeast of Amsterdam.
"We are awaiting the outcome of an investigation of the bodies and on the basis of that information and other information we have gathered, we hope to be able to shed light on what has happened" within the next few days, Leonie Bosselaar, a police spokeswoman, said by telephone today.
Schmittmann, 57, and his wife and daughter were found at their home in the Dutch town of Laren, 32 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Amsterdam, on April 5 after the police received a call from an acquaintance who said something might be wrong at the property. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf identified the dead women as Nelly, 57, Schmittmann's wife, and their daughter Babette, 22.
The police have reason to assume they died in a "family tragedy," a situation in which one family member takes his life after killing others, Bosselaar said.
The former banker's death comes after several unexpected deaths by finance workers around the world have raised concerns of mental health and stress levels in the industry.
London Deaths
A coroner in London last month started an inquest into the apparent suicide of William Broeksmit, 58, a retired Deutsche Bank AG risk executive found dead in his London home in January. The inquest for Gabriel Magee, a 39-year-old vice president in technology operations at JPMorgan Chase & Co., who died after falling from the firm's 33-story London headquarters, is scheduled for late May.
In 2009, former ABN Amro Holding NV Chief Financial Officer Huibert Boumeester, 49, took his life while suffering from depression, according to the coroner investigating his death. The banker was found dead from gunshot wounds by police that June in woodlands 25 miles west of his London home.
Schmittmann joined ABN Amro Holding NV, once among Europe's biggest banks, in 1983 as an assistant relationship manager and was named head of the lender's Dutch unit in 2003. As a member of the bank's executive board, he was responsible for restructuring it along the lines agreed by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Fortis and Banco Santander SA in their three-way takeover of the lender in 2007.
Failed Takeover
A year after the biggest financial-services takeover in history, the credit crunch drove Fortis to the verge of collapse, forcing the Netherlands to take over its Dutch banking and insurance units, including assets of the former ABN Amro in 2008. The Dutch asked Gerrit Zalm to lead the company now called ABN Amro Group NV.
On the eve of the nationalization, Schmittmann was dismissed by the Dutch Finance Ministry, he told lawmakers in a 2011 hearing. He received an 8 million-euro ($11 million) severance payment, less than what he was entitled to under his contract and more than the Dutch government sought to pay.
Schmittmann owned 2phase2, a management company for investments and financial transactions, according to information on LinkedIn Corp.'s professional social-networking website. He's also co-founder of 5 Park Lane BV, and last year returned to banking as a supervisory board member at Delta Lloyd Bank NV.
De Telegraaf reported today Schmittmann hanged himself, citing two unidentified people. The police haven't disclosed any information on who played which part in the tragedy, Bosselaar said.
Schmittmann, who was born in Maartensdijk, Netherlands, is survived by one daughter, who wasn't at home and was informed by officers of the death of her family, the police said on April 5.
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