The decision was made since last Friday. The Board of Unicaja Banco has preferred the internal solution and has appointed Isidro Rubiales as the new CEO to replace Manuel Menéndez, who last June resigned from fighting for control of the merged bank and sealed his deferred departure from the entity.
The name of Isidro Rubiales has been in the pools for weeks where his candidacy was taken for granted given the closeness between the manager and Manuel Azuaga, president of the combined entity, for whom Rubiales is a profile of maximum confidence. In fact, the appointment of him there was only one obstacle. This is the express preference of the European Central Bank (ECB) for the appointment of an external candidate, oblivious to the power struggle between the Malaga front (headed by the Unicaja Foundation, the bank’s largest shareholder) and the Asturian front (from the former Liberbank).
Finally, other considerations have weighed more in the Board’s decision and it will be Isidro Rubiales, until now deputy general director to the president with broad responsibilities in Risk Control and Strategy, who will relieve Menéndez in the position. However, the latter will remain in the post until “the agreed appointment becomes effective, once the corresponding regulatory authorizations have been obtained”, as reported by the company on Monday to the market.
And it is that Rubiales must still pass the suitability test in Frankfurt, the so-called fit and proper, whose resolution period is several months. That is why internal sources at the bank assume that Menéndez will remain in office at least until September.
Rubiales’ choice has not been without debate within the house. The bank’s Appointments Committee met last Thursday to analyze the proposals of Spencer Stuart, the headhunter Hired by the entity to lead the selection process for the new CEO. The firm provided various external names, including the former CEO of Bankia, Jose Seville.