Orcel takes public row with Santander over CEO job offer to court

One of the most public rows over a top job offer at Spain’s Santander is heading to court next Wednesday, pitting the bank against Andrea Orcel just weeks before the renowned dealmaker takes the helm at Italy’s UniCredit.

The case stems from Santander’s decision two years ago to suddenly drop plans to make Orcel its CEO after a disagreement over his pay package.

The dispute has raised much interest in the financial community, not least for how public it has been, but also for the rare step to move to court, when such rows are generally dealt with behind close doors.

The Spanish court hearing is expected to be wrapped up in a day but the outcome could come weeks or even months later, meaning Orcel may well be already running UniCredit with the dispute still pending.