MADRID | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | As a child, Emilio Botín used to listen to his father urging the branch directors of Santander bank –back then a local commercial lender- to capture more term deposits. Until his death on Wednesday, Mr Botín was head of Europe’s largest commercial bank, attentive to the evolution of credit lending in each regional branch, as well as in Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil or Poland. He was a full-time business banker. There were no distractions for Emilio Botín: even when he was hunting in Africa or playing golf he was looking through his business reports; at the weekends he used to meet the executives of Santander at his own place. The bank was his only truly passion.