Santander Brazil head Rial given more sway with executive board role

Santander Brazil head Sergio Rial will join Santander's board as a group executive director, the Spanish bank said on Thursday, giving him more influence over its overall strategy. Several senior bankers have told Reuters that Brazilian Rial is viewed as one of the leading candidates to become Santander CEO in the medium term after the bank failed in an attempt to appoint Italian banker Andrea Orcel to the role in January 2019.

The bank said on Thursday that Rial would continue to report to Santander's chief executive José Antonio Álvarez. Santander has said that it is sticking with Alvarez as CEO. Rial, who joined Santander in 2015, will maintain his current position as country head for Brazil, head of South America and head of Global Trade Services (GTS), the platform the bank is developing to enable international trade for SMEs.

Brazil has been Santander's main earnings driver and has helped it cope with tough conditions for banks in Europe in the years since the financial crisis, where low-interest rates and the clean-up from the credit crunch have crimped profits. Brazil accounts for 28% of earnings at Santander, which is the euro zone's second-biggest lender in terms of market value.

Once Rial's appointment is ratified, Santander will have three executive directors on its board: executive chairman Ana Botin, Alvarez as vice chairman and CEO, and Rial. The rest of the board members are external directors.

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