Santander gets new leadership
Shake-up addresses corporate governance concerns
BY JESÚS AGUADO
AND SONYA DOWSETT
Reuters
MADRID – Santander chief Ana Botín overhauled the management of the euro zone’s biggest bank on Tuesday, turning the page after her late father’s 28-year leadership and giving the Spanish lender a younger, more international profile.
The bank ousted CEO Javier Marín and replaced him with finance boss José Antonio Álvarez, a move welcomed by investors as a sign that Botín, 54, was putting her stamp on a business emerging from a long economic downturn at home.
The new team, which starts on Jan. 1, needs to show Santander can cut costs and build up capital while turning around its business in major markets such as Brazil and Europe, as well as expanding in newer ones such as the United States and Eastern Europe.
The overhaul aims partly to answer big international investors’ concerns that Santander’s board was not independent enough.
Santander replaced two directors and added a third, filling a void left by the death of former chairman Emilio Botín in September, when he was succeeded by his daughter.
In an internal memo seen by Reuters, Ana Botín told staff that she wanted the modernized lender to be “a simple, personal and transparent bank.”
A veteran of Santander herself, she has shown every sign of wanting to further her father’s strategy, including the bank’s global footprint and generous dividend policy.
But she has broken with some aspects of his management after four years running the bank’s British business.
Whereas the average age of board members had been 65 before the overhaul, the new directors are between 48 and 54 and include Briton Bruce Carnegie-Brown, who had been a front-runner to become chairman of the British division.
He will be lead independent director, a new position meant to foster accountability and which some banks are creating following the financial crisis.
“The changes at Santander are a clear message from Ana Patricia to say ‘I’m in charge’ and to show who is holding the reins. She is implementing change at all levels of the bank,” said Enrique Quemada, CEO of investment bank ONEtoONE.
Santander shares closed up 1 percent at 7.161 euros on Tuesday.
CHANGE OF STYLE
José García Cantera, until now head of global banking and markets and who had previously been a top manager at Santander’s Spanish retail business Banesto under Ana Botín - will replace Alvarez as CFO. Frenchman Jacques Ripoll, formerly of the British business, will run global banking and markets.
Tuesday’s shake-up also addresses corporate governance concerns that have often been raised about the bank, which until recently had three Botín family members on the board.
Santander named Sol Daurella, chairwoman of Coca-Cola’s bottling and distribution business in Spain, and Mexican businessman Carlos Fernández González as new independent directors.
They replace Spaniards Fernando de Asua and Abel Matutes, long-standing appointments under Emilio Botín.
No comments:
Post a Comment