Orcel ‘offered €52m’ by Santander as part of botched CEO plan
Santander reportedly offered Andrea Orcel a €52m pay deal as part of a botched plan to appoint him as chief executive.
Orcel, the investment banker who was denied the role of chief executive at Santander just four months after being offered the post, was offered a cash sign-on bonus of €17m and €35m of shares, according to the FT.
Read more: Santander faces lawsuit from Orcel over CEO row
In a letter seen by the paper, the Spanish multinational bank said Orcel was also expected to make his “best efforts” to receive deferred payment from UBS totalling the tens of millions of euros.
A Santander spokesperson said: “We have explained the rationale behind our decision not to appoint Mr Orcel clearly. We remain confident this was the right decision and will present evidence to the courts to support our position as required.”
The revelations come just weeks after it emerged that Santander had received a €100m (£90m) legal challenge from Orcel, who is understood to be filing a lawsuit claiming the Spanish multinational bank violated a contract between the two sides.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Santander will have about 20 days to respond to a civil lawsuit which 56-year old Orcel plans to file in Madrid.
The Italian banker is demanding he is given back his role of chief executive or paid damages adding up to roughly €100m.
The move was the latest twist in a high-profile battle between the two sides, which was first sparked when Santander announced in January that it was ditching plans to hire Orcel.
Orcel was named to the post in September, leaving UBS to take a required six-month leave before starting his next chapter.
Read more: How Christian Sewing can save Deutsche Bank
However, a disagreement over pay led to Santander withdrawing its offer several months later, raising questions about the Spanish bank’s hiring process.