Bank of New York Mellon Friday said its chief executive Robert Kelly has stepped down in a surprise move, because of what the company said was “differences in approach to managing the company,”  Economic Times reported.

The largest trust and custody banks did not state as to why Kelly was stepping down. The bank did say the decision was a mutual agreement with the bank’s board. 

A biography still posted on BNY Mellon’s website noted that Kelly “was named one of America’s Best CEO’s for 2009” by Institutional Investor magazine.

Meanwhile, Gerald Hassell, BNY Mellon’s 59-year old president, is taking over as chairman and chief executive. He has been with BNY Mellon and before that Bank of New York for three decades. 

BNY Mellon is looking to cut costs as low interest rates have cut into its earnings growth, and it has been struggling with lawsuits alleging it overcharged pension funds for foreign exchange trades. 

“This is an extreme surprise,” said Gerald Cassidy, analyst at RBC Capital Markets. “The company is currently facing two major issues, the planned downsizing and the ongoing foreign exchange litigation. We don’t know how or if his departure was related to them,” Cassidy added.  

Bank of Newyork Mellon is a leading investment management and investment services company which is headquartered in New York and has $26.3 trillion in assets under custody or administration and $1.3 trillion under management.