Santander's boss Alfred Saenz is 'banned from banking'

The chief executive of Santander, the Spanish bank which bought a swathe of former UK building societies, could be forced to step down after reports that Madrid's supreme court has banned him from banking.

Alfred Saenz was found guilty in 2009 of making false accusations in the 1990s about clients of Banesto, the bank he then chaired, which Santander subsequently took over.

He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, but both prosecution and defence took the case to appeal.

The supreme court has now upheld and increased his sentence to eight months, according to Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo.

He is unlikely to go to jail because under Spanish law first-time offenders are only imprisoned if convicted to more than two years.

The supreme court reviewed the appeals behind closed doors on December 22 and declined to comment today.

Saenz, 68, has been chief executive of Santander since 2002 and is close to its chairman, Emilio Botin, helping make the acquisitions in the UK which have made it Europe's second-largest bank by market value.

He was paid 8.45 million (£7 million) in 2009 and has a pension pot worth 85.7 million which entitles him to an annual pension of around 6 million when he retires, which was already expected shortly.

Santander shares fell 15½p to 700p in London.