The chairwoman of Banco Santander, Ana Botín, has said that she will be the last representative of the Botín family to hold the presidency of the financial institution that her saga has led since the last century.
"There will be no other Botín leading Santander," Ana Botín said during an interview with the British business daily 'Financial Times'.
The executive has explained that none of her three sons plans to take on the bank’s presidency. "I wouldn’t want any of my sons to work with me because it’s very hard," she said. The eldest, Felipe Morenés, is a partner and co-founder of Stoneshield Capital. In early September, it was announced that Franklin Templeton was acquiring a majority stake in this management firm.
Morenés left banking in 2013, after five years at UBS. Since then, he has directed his career toward private equity, first with more than four years at the Lone Star fund and later with the creation of Stoneshield. In addition, he was appointed alternate independent director on the board of directors of Santander México at the end of 2023.
Ana Botín, who has already accumulated 12 years as chairwoman of the bank, has stressed that, although the family leaves the presidency, it is "important" to keep a Botín member on the board of directors.
"Values and a long-term vision are essential. But the reality is that you don’t need a family behind an institution; what you need are family values," she reiterated.
The eventual departure of Ana Botín from the chairwoman position could lead to the role losing its executive functions. In terms of good governance, the recommendation of the European Central Bank (ECB) is to concentrate executive duties in the chief executive officer and reserve for the chairwoman a role mainly institutional and of representation.