Andrea Orcel Wins Case Towards Santander Over Botched Hiring

Mr. Orcel sued Santander for about €100 million in damages—which he later dropped to as much as €75 million—alleging the financial institution provided him a contract and broke it, destroying his profession and fame. The Italian finally landed on his ft and was appointed as CEO of UniCredit SpA, Italy’s second largest financial institution, this 12 months.

In Friday’s ruling, the decide dismissed Santander’s protection that Mr. Orcel’s provide letter wasn’t a contract below Spanish legislation. Below the ruling, Mr. Orcel’s award features a €17 million sign-in bonus, €35 million in compensation for long-term incentives he misplaced at UBS and €10 million for ethical and reputational damages.

A Santander spokesman mentioned the Spanish banking big strongly disagreed with the ruling and would enchantment. A spokesman for Mr. Orcel mentioned he had no speedy remark.

Earlier than the botched job provide, Ms. Botín and Mr. Orcel had one of the vital enduring skilled partnerships in European banking. Mr. Orcel, first at Financial institution of America Merrill Lynch after which UBS, was the go-to funding banker for Ms. Botín’s father, former Santander Chairman Emilio Botín, advising on acquisitions and fundraising. Ms. Botín, who grew to become govt chairman after her father’s dying in 2014, continued to depend on Mr. Orcel for enterprise recommendation.

Mr. Orcel’s hiring was seen as a sign second for Santander, which is certainly one of Europe’s most precious lenders, with operations within the U.Okay., Latin America and the U.S. by a considerable auto-lending enterprise. An outsider and an aggressive deal maker, analysts thought his rent would shake up the family-controlled financial institution.

Ms. Botín provided Mr. Orcel the CEO job in a gathering in New York in the summertime of 2018, The Wall Road Journal reported. Mr. Orcel, who was pessimistic about his prospects of turning into CEO of UBS, agreed instantly.

To keep away from stranding UBS at an investor day at which he was scheduled to current, he resigned earlier than signing a complete employment contract at Santander. As an alternative, he acquired a proposal letter signed by the financial institution’s board secretary.

Within the provide letter, Santander agreed to pay a €17 million sign-on bonus and as much as €35 million in Santander shares to cowl for any loss in deferred compensation at UBS, in keeping with an individual accustomed to the letter. The letter additionally said that Mr. Orcel ought to make “greatest efforts” to cut back the fee to Santander of hiring him. Ms. Botín, in the meantime, would foyer UBS to cowl a few of the deferred compensation cost to Mr. Orcel.

This got here crashing down when it grew to become clear UBS wouldn’t decide up any of the tab, leaving Santander on the hook for an enormous payout to Mr. Orcel.

Discussions over his pay package deal overwhelmed the years of goodwill between Mr. Orcel and Ms. Botín. Looming over the talks was a public backlash towards banker remuneration within the years after the 2008 monetary disaster.

Ms. Botín withdrew Mr. Orcel’s employment provide in February 2019, partly to keep away from blowback in Spain the place govt compensation tends to be a lot decrease than on Wall Road. Mr. Orcel sued and particulars of the spat spilled out publicly.

“You’ve destroyed my profession, my fame and inflicted very excessive financial injury,” he mentioned in a 2019 e-mail to Santander Board Secretary Jaime Pérez Renovales that leaked to the Spanish media that 12 months.

Santander claimed in court docket that Mr. Orcel refused to decrease the financial institution’s invoice by the €13.7 million he acquired from UBS as non-deferred 2018 bonus and a few deferrals. The financial institution additionally mentioned that in negotiations, Mr. Orcel added €3 million to the invoice for a lack of dividends and curiosity from his deferred compensation.

In Could, Mr. Orcel and Ms. Botín met in court docket, however didn’t work together apart from a quick greeting from Ms. Botín when she arrived, in keeping with an individual accustomed to the matter. The individual mentioned Mr. Orcel didn’t reply.

Santander saved as CEO the person Mr. Orcel was meant to switch, José Antonio Álvarez. The financial institution endured a bumpy pandemic, taking a €12.6 billion write-down on earlier acquisitions and posting its first yearly loss in 2020. Its inventory has fallen round 30% since canceling Mr. Orcel’s appointment.

Now at UniCredit, Mr. Orcel is amongst Italy’s highest paid executives and will make as much as €7.5 million this 12 months. This week, he unveiled UniCredit’s new three-year technique, sending the financial institution’s inventory sharply greater.

—Giovanni Legorano contributed to this text.

Write to Patricia Kowsmann at patricia.kowsmann@wsj.com