Santander's Botin Pledges to Continue Father's Work

SANTANDER, Spain--In Ana Patricia Botín first official appearance as chairwoman of Banco Santander SA she vowed to build on the work of her father, the bank's former chairman who died last week.

Ms. Botín said that her father, Emilio Botín, worked for almost 30 years as Santander's chairman to transform it into the "No. 1 bank in the eurozone, and one of the top 10 banks world-wide by market capitalization." Mr. Botín died Tuesday evening of a heart attack at the age of 79.

"My ambition is to continue this success story, to which I will dedicate my greatest efforts," Ms. Botín said. The bank's board on Wednesday appointed Ms. Botín to run the bank, the fourth generation of her family to do so.

Shareholders were gathered on Monday in the city of Santander to vote on whether to accept the bank's proposal to buy the 25% of its Brazil unit it doesn't currently own.

The meeting, on the bank's agenda for months, took on a new dimension after the death of Mr. Botín as his daughter's first official appearance as chairwoman.

Mr. Botín was buried last week in this northern Spanish city, where he was born on Oct. 1, 1934.

Write to Jeannette Neumann at [e-mail]

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