Emilio Botín

Who is Emilio Botín?

Emilio Botín-Sanz de Sautuola y García de los Ríos, Marquis Consort of O'Shea, is a Spanish banker. He is the Executive Chairman of Spain's Grupo Santander. In 1993 his bank absorbed Banco Español de Crédito, and in 1999 it merged with Banco Central Hispano creating Banco Santander Central Hispano, which became Spain's largest bank, of which he was co-president with Central Hispano's José María Amusategui, until Amusategui retired in 2002. In 2004, BSCH acquired the British bank Abbey National, making BSCH the second largest bank in Europe by market capitalisation. In July 2008 Santander was named the Best Bank in the World by Euromoney magazine. He is known for his obsession with growth and performance as well as regularly visiting branches.