Alfredo Sáenz, second in charge at Santander, announced his resignation to the bank's board on Friday. As a chief executive at Santander, Sáenz has been Emilio Botín's right-hand-man and a successful firm leader for years. But he wants to leave before the Bank of Spain can resolve an investigation of whether he is fit to run a bank due to a past a past criminal conviction even though the chances were high that the Bank of Spain was going to rule in his favor.
The conviction dates back to an issue that happened twenty years ago, and it is not particularly serious. But Alfredo Sáenz, who joined the banking group in 1994 as CEO of Banesto, was having to endure the investigation and did not want to leave any doubts about his past or let it be used against Santander. Sáenz's brilliant management career has positioned the group first among Spanish banks and a major player in global banking.
For a while, it has been obvious that internal candidate Matías Rodríguez Inciarte would replace Sáenz. The firm finally decided to take advantage of the change and performed a clean sweep of its management. Javier Martín, who had been at the firm for 22 years and done quite well, picked up the baton for a generation of executives -- such as those recently appointed in Brazil and Latin America -- born in the sixties.
Santander's share price increased on the leadership change. The bank is recovering from a horrendous 2012 and 2013 is still a recovery year, too. Transfering power to a new generation is always a delicate move. Santander is betting on the young guns to strengthen its business and build its future.
