Madrid court cuts Orcel payout total in Santander legal dispute - reports

By Scott Kanowsky 

Investing.com -- A Madrid court has reduced the amount that Banco Santander (BME:SAN) owes to Andrea Orcel again, but ruled in favor of the Italian banker, as his protracted legal battle with the Spanish lender drags on.

Santander must now pay Orcel €43.5 million (€1 = $1.0754) over its decision in 2018 to revoke an offer to hire him as chief executive officer, according to media reports, citing court documents.

This comes after Santander appealed a prior ruling in January 2022 that slashed the compensation number to €51.4M, but rejected the bank's claims that the offer letter it gave to Orcel did not represent a valid contract. The five judges hearing Santander's latest appeal upheld this decision.

According to the Financial Times newspaper, Santander is now considering whether to pursue another appeal.

Orcel first brought the lawsuit against Santander in 2019, accusing the bank of breaching its contract with him when it rescinded its job offer after a reported disagreement with executive chair Ana Botín.

At the time, Orcel's lawsuit was seeking a payout of €112M, including lost bonus pay and long-term incentive packages, as well as "moral" damages. He later cut that figure in half.