José Antonio Álvarez takes over as CEO of the largest Spanish financial group eight years after being appointed by President Ana Botín in the process of change triggered by the death of his father, Emilio Botín in September 2014. Álvarez has been since then the strategist and executor of the change promoted by the president.
Firm support even when the bank itself announced its replacement
of him by another more renowned executive such as Andrea Orcel and had to back down.
The banking sector faced difficult times in 2014.
The Spanish economy was beginning to recover from the financial crisis but the consequences were still there.
The sector was suffering from problems related to diminishing profitability due to the European Central Bank's interest rate policy, growing regulatory pressure for entities to clean up their balance sheets, and serious reputational problems stemming from the bailout of savings banks and the judicialization of some of its commercial practices such as preferential or floor clauses in mortgages.
Although Santander was further away from these situations than other entities, Álvarez's roadmap was based precisely on these points:
more operational efficiency, more profitability for the shareholder, less delinquency and a "simple, personal and fair" service.
Before arriving at Santander, in 2002 Álvarez had had a long professional career where he had built a good reputation.
Discreet despite her new position, Álvarez's profile never cast the slightest shadow over that of the president.
With the same discretion
, the bank patiently waited for the collapse of Banco Popular to take over the entity in a sudden operation for the price of one euro
five years ago.
Digestion has been heavy and hard.
Today, the bank in Spain has fewer offices than before buying its rival.
It also cleans, since
the Court of Justice of the European Union exempted Santander
from responsibility with the shareholders of Popular last May.
Álvarez's worst moment at the head of the bank came with
the announcement of the signing in 2018 of Andrea Orcel to relieve him
, an operation with which the bank intended to have a profile of chief executive much more notorious and recognized than that of his trusted man .
Orcel, coming from UBS, was a City star who went to Boadilla del Monte to take a picture and sign a contract and then slam the door on the entity and sue it.
Álvarez had to return to occupy the position that he was already vacating
and in which he has served in stoppage time until now.
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