Reactions: Santander president Emilio Botin dies at age 79
In this section Digital Look will be covering the news relating to the passing away and succession of one of Europe's best known bankers, Emilio Botin, who once famously said: "Give me a bank and I'll control the world". He was the chief arquitect of the Spanish lender's global expansion as he seized the opportunity of successive financial crises, first in Brazil and then in the UK, to expand Santander's footprint.
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1127: The condolences continue to come in, including fron Spain's Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy.
1024: Spaniards tend to be a bit of an exagerrated lot, but here's a good one. Pedro J.Ramirez, ex-Editor-in-Chief at Spanish daily El Mundo writes: "In Spain Botin had more power than the Army and the [Catholic] church".
0944: In his last public appearance the veteran banker and well-known power broker appeared to be in full health. He was due to appear at the bank’s Madrid’s headquarters for a cultural event on Wednesday morning.
0925: "Long live the King, the King is dead," as someone once said. Botin’s daughter, Ana Patricia Botin, is widely considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed her father in that post.
0820: Shares in the Spanish lender are now retreating 1.7%.
0809: Sources familiar with the matter have confirmed to Bolsamania.com that the cause of his death was a heart attack.
0802: Spanish lender Santander has informed the country’s market regulator of the death of its President Emilio Botin, at age 79.
The board will meet to appoint a successor on Wednesday, a spokesman for the company said.
Coming from a family of bankers hailing from the northern Spanish province of Santander, Botin will be most remembered for having had the foresight to go against received wisdom, investing in Brazil and the United Kingdom at the height of each country's most recent financial crisis.