Botín (whose father and grandfather had previously run Santander) had a “habit of cutting other senior managers out of the decision-making loop” , especially former BCH executives , repeatedly angering Amusátegui, according to one senior Spanish banking executive.
The tensions became public a year ago when Botín approved the merger of a BSCH-controlled company without consulting Amusátegui. Then Amusátegui got the merger scuttled, straining relations with Botín almost to the breaking point.
Caught between the two was the bank’s CEO, Angel Corcóstegui, a soft-spoken 50-year-old Basque who is widely regarded as one of Spain’s best bankers. He also was Amusátegui’s former CEO at BCH. If Botín, who controlled BSCH’s board, moved too aggressively against Amusátegui, he risked losing a valued CEO. “In a sense, Corcóstegui was Amusátegui’s trump card,” says an analyst in Madrid. “If Corcóstegui left the bank, BSCH’s stock price would have been pummeled.”
But in late June the cost-conscious Corcóstegui apparently agreed with Botín that BSCH had to merge its two retail subsidiaries, Banco Santander and Banco Central Hispano, to meet its expense targets. Amusátegui opposed the shift, fearing it would reduce the influence of his old BCH franchise.
After losing that key battle, Amusátegui was expected to gracefully step down next March, his scheduled retirement date. But Botín, who is known as the Iron Fist to some competitors, decided to press his advantage: In late July he fired the bank’s head of communications and research, a former BCH executive, without informing Amusátegui. Amusátegui retaliated by asking the Bank of Spain to investigate BSCH,s decision-making process. The central bank declined. Out of options, Amusátegui departed in mid-August, leaving Botín the sole chairman.
