Emilio Botin, chairman of the Spanish banking giant Santander, has died aged 79, the company has announced.

The bank said Mr Botin died of a heart attack on Tuesday night.

The appointments and remuneration committee and the board of directors will meet on Wednesday to appoint a new chairman.

Mr Botin, a scion of a banking dynasty, was credited with building a small regional bank into a global brand with a presence in ten countries.

The group's shares fell 1.7% as the news broke.

Banking dynasty

Mr Botin - full name Emilio Botin Sanz de Sautuola y Garcia de los Rios - was a graduate in economics and law who joined the bank's board in 1960.

He became managing director in 1967 and chief executive a decade later, then chairman in 1986.

After the death of her father, Ana Botin, the present chief executive of Santander UK, is set to be appointed as group chairwoman this afternoon.

Santander, in the top 20 global banks by size, is a hugely influential operation across Europe and Latin America.

Ms Botin will now become a member of that rather small club - women who have made it to the top table of those who wield significant financial power.

It would not be too much of an exaggeration to put her in the top three - alongside Christine Lagarde at the IMF and Janet Yellen at the Federal Reserve.