Ms Botin oversaw the transformation of Santander UK following the merger of Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley building societies, and helped grow the bank to its current position where it has around 860 branches across the UK.
The British Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, made particular reference to Ms Botin having positioned Santander as a "major provider of lending for small and medium-sized UK businesses, complementing the UK government's wider efforts to boost overseas trade under the newly launched 'Exporting is GREAT' campaign."
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