Advertisement

Santander names new boss after Botín death

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Santander names new boss after Botín death
Santander's new new chief executive José Antonio Álvarez has been the bank's chief financial officer for the past decade. Photo: AFP

Spain's Santander, the biggest bank in Europe by market value, on Tuesday named José Antonio Álvarez its new chief executive in a reshuffle after longtime chairman Emilio Botín died.

Advertisement

The bank's chief financial officer for the past decade, Álvarez has been promoted to the top management post to replace Javier Marín after his two years in the job, the bank said in a statement.

Several other managers were internally promoted under the leadership of Ana Botin, Emilio Botín's daughter who took over as chairman after his death in September.

Emilio Botín died suddenly of a heart attack after leading the global expansion of the bank during nearly 30 years at its helm.

The new managers will take up their posts in January, subject to regulators' approval.

Ana Botín thanked Marín for his 23 years at the bank, including the past two as chief executive.

"During his two years in this role, he has led the commercial transformation of our bank... while also improving our profitability and efficiency," she said in the statement.

"The financial services industry today faces many important challenges. But Banco Santander is uniquely well-positioned to succeed, thanks to our strong local retail and commercial banking presence in 10 European and American markets."

Emilio Botín was one of the most powerful men in Spain, where critics branded him a symbol of excesses in the banking system which sparked a ruinous property crash — although his own bank survived it.

Santander said its net profit jumped by 52 percent in the third quarter of this year to €1.6 billion ($2.0 billion), due to lower costs and higher earnings in its main markets: Spain, Brazil and Britain, where it bought Abbey National bank in 2004.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also