Background
Emilio Botín was born in Santander, Cantabria, on the northern coast of Spain, the eldest of two sons of Emilio Botín y Sanz de Sautuola, born in 18 January 1903, and Ana María García de los Ríos y Caller.
Emilio Botín was born in Santander, Cantabria, on the northern coast of Spain, the eldest of two sons of Emilio Botín y Sanz de Sautuola, born in 18 January 1903, and Ana María García de los Ríos y Caller.
Started working in Banco Santander in 1958 after graduation. Botín was no newcomer to the banking world. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all bankers. For six years took different positions, than became General Director. In 1986 Emilio Botín, then aged 52, took over from his father as president of the Banco de Santander, one of many banks that existed in Spain at the time.
Botín estableshed aliances with portuguese Banca Champalimaud, french Société Générale, british The Royal Bank of Scotland, german Commerzbank, italian San Paolo and morrocan BCM. Invested in American continent buying banks in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brasil, Perú, Venezuela and México.
In 1994 Banco de Santander aquired Banesto (which was the fifth largest spanish bank) in publica auction.
Since 1998 were iniciated contacts between Banco Santander and Banco Central Hispano. The following year was created one of the major banks of Spain and Europe: el Banco Santander Central Hispano, which afterwards was renamed to Banco Santander.
In 2004, Santander acquired the British bank Abbey National and became the second largest bank in Europe by market capitalisation.
July 11 of 2008 Banco Santander was named the best bank of the world by Euromoney magazine.
In 2012 Santander also was named the best bank of the world and the bank of the year in the United Kingdom, México, Poland, Portugal, Argentina and Puerto Rico by The Banker magazine.
Paloma O'Shea Artiñano, 1st Marquise of O'Shea, (born 1936), is a pianist, patron of the arts, founder and current principal of the Queen Sofía College of Music and founder and president of the Albeniz Foundation.
