The honesty of Jaime Botín after the conviction of Picasso

The honor of the bankers is fundamental for the supervisory bodies, not only for the managers of the entities but also for those who have majority shares in the capital. This issue, which has always been taken into account, has escalated positions among the authorities' priorities in recent years as a result of the financial crisis.

Jaime Botín was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in prison and 54.2 million euros for a crime of smuggling a Picasso cadre, something that questions the principles and requirements of honorability of the partners and shareholders of the banks. You have to take into account that you are the maximum investor of Bankinter, when controlling more than 23% of the capital through its equity company Cartival.

The ECB is aware of the situation, although it is still too early to know the final outcome of the events, since the penalty is appealable and therefore not firm. But, if confirmed, It is not ruled out that Jaime Botín is going to have to sell the entity's shares. And there are precedents, although irregularities have mainly affected managers. And he is not, since he exerts his influence in the shadow through his son Alfonso, who is the chief executive of Bankinter since the vice presidency.

In 2003, 'Los Albertos' – Alberto Alcocer and Alberto Cortina – were forced to part with the 40% they held in Zaragozano after the Supreme Court ruling in the case of the Kio Towers.

In the study of what may happen, it should also be noted that Cartival is not 100 percent of his property, but that in his majority his five descendants and his wife participate, a fact that differs with the example of Zaragozano, an entity that It was acquired by the British Barclays.

In the principles of honorability, the regulations assess whether the sentence is firm or not, the nature of the sentence, whether it is “especially” crimes against property, money laundering, public order, and the Public Treasury , in addition to recidivism in penalties, penalties, offenses or infractions.

Accumulation of cases

All these criteria would put the position of Botín (uncle of the president of Santander) against the ropes. Last year the Spanish authorities confirmed the fine of 300,000 euros imposed by the Ministry of Economy for hiding the purchase of 8% of the capital of Bankinter, following the guidelines of the Supreme Court and the National Court. In addition, it is currently being investigated by an alleged fraud of one million euros against the Public Treasury when registering a plane in Portugal Although its operations center was in Spain. The Prosecutor's Office claims two years and three months in prison for the banker.

Botín's participation in Bankinter currently has a value of 1.3 billion, according to the prices of the entity's listing on the stock exchange. In recent weeks it has depreciated as a result of the doubts raised by investors about the consequences of granting its subsidiary Línea Directa to its partners through an extraordinary dividend and taking it out to the stock market in mid-2020.

Some analysts believe that profitability, the highest in the Spanish system, will suffer, since the insurer contributes almost 20% of the total benefits. But others hope they can compensate this loss with other levers by having the best management in the sector.

Jaime Botín, sentenced to 18 months in jail for removing a work from Picasso from Spain