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 jeannette.neumann@wsj.com
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