DealBook: Banco Santander Chairman Emilio Botín Dies at Age 79

Photo Emilio Botín took the helm of Banco Santander in 1986, making him one of the country's longest-serving banking chairmen.Credit Sergio Perez/Reuters

LONDON — The long-serving chairman of Banco Santander, Emilio Botín-Sanz de Sautuola y García de los Ríos, who over the past two decades transformed the Spanish lender into one of Europe's largest banks, has died, the bank said on Wednesday

Mr. Botín was 79. The bank did not give a cause of death.

The bank said that its board would meet later Wednesday to appoint a new chairman.

"Banco Santander regrets to announce that its chairman, Emilio Botín, has passed away," the bank said in a brief statement on Wednesday.

Born in 1934, Mr. Botín, who earned a degree in law and economics, joined the bank's board of directors in July 1960 and became head of the bank in 1986.

The scion of a banking dynasty, Mr. Botín followed his grandfather and his father as chairman of the bank.

Mr. Botín was one of the country's longest-serving banking chairmen. His stature in Spain is such that his rare pronouncements on the economy often eclipsed those of politicians.

During his tenure, the bank grew from being a small lender into one of the largest European banks, with operations also in Britain, Latin America and the United States.

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