Co-operative Financial Services chief executive Neville Richardson is to step down a week after announcing the disposal of its life insurance business.

Richardson, who is also chief executive of the Co-operative Bank and deputy chief executive of the Co-operative Group, is to leave later this year.

The outgoing chief executive joined the Co-operative as part of the group's acquisition of Britannia Building Society in 2009, where he held the same role.

Richardson said, 'It was always my intention to seek new challenges once the merger of Co-operative Financial Services and Britannia was well advanced.

'That time has now come and I want to move on to the next stage of my career. I am immensely proud of what has been achieved at Co-operative Financial Services over the past couple of years and am confident that I will be leaving the business in great shape to grow and prosper in the years to come.'

Barry Tootell, chief financial officer of Co-operative Financial Services is to become acting chief executive with immediate effect.

Tootell, formerly finance director for consumer banking at Lloyds Banking Group, joined the Co-operative Group in 2008.

Last week, Co-operative Financial Services announced it would be disposing of its life insurance business to Royal London following a strategic review.

The life insurance business, includes £15bn of assets in its Long Term Business Fund and Co-operative Asset Management.

Co-operative Financial Services also announced plans axe 670 field-based advisory roles in favour of rolling out its financial advice partnership with Axa to its non-Britannia Building Society branches.

Speaking last week, Neville Richardson said the decision had been taken 'in the best long-term interests' of customers and members.

He added, 'We understand that such news may be difficult for  impacted colleagues and we have not reached this outcome lightly.

'However, we  were faced with rising regulatory costs in a business which was increasingly becoming sub-scale.'

The strategic review was prompted by the Retail Distribution Review, a regulatory regime to be brought in by the Financial Services Authority, requiring, amongst other things, higher professional qualifications.