Emilio Botin, Santander Bank Chairman
Emilio Botin, Santander Bank Chairman. EFE

Emilio Botin, executive chairman of Spanish banking giant Santander, has died, the company announced Wednesday. He was 79.
 Botín died of an apparent heart attack Tuesday night at his home in the Spanish capital of Madrid.
 Santander, Europe's largest bank by market capitalization, said in a statement that senior executives would meet later Wednesday to choose his successor.
 The chairman was born into the family banking business in the northern Spanish city of Santander, where his father and grandfather were presidents of the bank.
 He joined Banco Santander at the age of 24 and over the years filled the posts of managing director, vice president and chief executive officer before taking over the chairmanship in 1986, retaining the title of CEO.


Under the stewardship of Botín, Santander bought up smaller Spanish banks to become the country's largest financial institution and launched an aggressive campaign to expand internationally.
 Outside Spain, the bank's main markets are Brazil, Britain, Mexico and the United States.
 Botín is survived by his wife, Paloma O'Shea Artiñano, and six children, including Harvard-educated Ana Patricia Botín, who now runs the Santander operation in Britain and is expected to take over.

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