Santander chairman Emilio Botin dies aged 79

Mr Botin joined the bank in the 1960s and rose up the ranks to become chairman in 1986. He then led the bank on an acquisition spree that meant Santander’s red and white logo become familiar around the world, as it grew to have 200,000 employees worldwide and assets of €1.4 trillion (£1.1 trillion). The bank has a market value of €91.1bn.

In 2004, Santander bought UK lender Abbey National in a £9bn deal, and the Spanish bank’s name became a familiar sight on Britain's high streets five years later when Abbey National’s 1,300 outlets were rebranded under the parent company’s name and logo.

Mr Botin’s eldest daughter Ana now leads Santander UK and has previously been talked of in banking circles as the obvious successor to her father as the head of the parent company.

“This is unexpected and it’s a significant loss for Spanish banking,” Javier Diaz-Gimenez, a professor at the IESE business school, told Bloomberg. “Mr Botin became a symbol of innovation, progress and leadership for transforming Santander from a small provincial lender into a global player and being at the forefront of the modernisation of Spanish banking after the death of dictator Franco.”

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