Chairman of Zurich Insurance and former boss at Deutsche Bank Josef Ackermann resigned on Thursday. His resignation was due to the apparent suicide of the insurance firm's chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier.

Police said Tuesday that Wauthier was found dead at his home in a lakefront suburb of Zug outside Zurich on Monday. He appeared to have committed suicide. In a statement on Thursday, Ackermann said that the Wauthier's family held on to the belief that he shared some of the responsibility for the CFO's death. "I have reasons to believe that the family is of the opinion that I should take my share of responsibility, as unfounded as any allegations might be," Ackermann elaborated further.

A spokeswoman did not provide details regarding the allegations to which Ackermann referred to in his statement.

Vice-chairman and former ABN Amro banker Tom de Swaan will take over as acting chairman, according to Zurich. The late Pierre Wauthier is survived by his wife and two children.