Roman Blanco has been named CEO of Boston-based Santander Holdings USA and Sovereign Bank. The board of directors of both companies unanimously selected Blanco for the role.  

Blanco replaces Jorge Moran, who has stepped down as chief executive officer and as a member of both boards.

 "Jorge’s leadership since December 2010 has been instrumental in reorganizing Santander’s businesses in the US, transforming Sovereign into a full-fledged commercial bank, and preparing the bank for a new chapter of growth. The board and I thank Jorge for his contributions and wish him great success in his future endeavors," Jerry Grundhofer, chairman of the board of Santander Holdings USA and Sovereign Bank, said in a statement. "We also look forward to working with Roman in this next phase. Roman is a proven, hands-on leader who has delivered outstanding results in his prior assignments."

Roman Blanco has led Santander Bancorp and Banco Santander Puerto Rico since 2012. He joined the Santander Group in 2004, was vice president of Banco Santander Brazil and served as CEO of Banco Santander Colombia from 2007 to 2012. Before joining Santander, he worked for 13 years with consulting firm McKinsey & Co.