Santander hit by two more defections

By SIMON DUKE FOR MAILONLINE
Updated: 03:39 EST, 1 December 2010

Banking giant Santander has had to draft in new recruits from Madrid after two of its top executives joined departing boss António Horta-Osório in defecting to Lloyds Banking Group.

Change: Defections have forced the bank to bring in some heavy hitters

In a blow to the Spanish group's British float plans, chief risk officer Juan Colombás and wealth management head Antonio Lorenzo will join the taxpayer-controlled lender next year.

The defections have forced Santander to bring in some heavy hitters as it prepares for the £20bn float of its British subsidiary during the first half of 2011.

As previously announced, Ana Patricia Botín, the daughter of all-powerful Santander chairman Emilio Botín, will today succeed António Horta-Osório at the head of the UK operation.

The scion of the Spanish banking dynasty becomes the first woman to run a major UK clearing bank.

Santander group chief executive Alfredo Sáenz will also join the board of its British operation as a non-executive director.

It is also bring in José María Nus to replace Colombás as Santander's chief risk officer after working on the spin-off of the group's Banesto subsidiary in 2002.

As the storm clouds gather over the Spanish economy, Santander plans to raise an estimated £4bn from the planned sale of a 20pc stake in its fast-growing UK arm during the first half of 2011.

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Eleven financial powerhouses have agreed to the code over the past four weeks, meaning the top 15 banks operating in the UK have pledged to avoid helping their clients sidestep the taxman.