Orcel open to drop part of claim against Santander, source says

MADRID, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Italian banker Andrea Orcel is open to negotiating a deal with Santander over the bank's withdrawal of an offer to make him CEO, including by lowering his compensation claim from 112 million euros to around 60 million euros, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

"If Orcel were to be appointed CEO of Unicredit, the part of the lawsuit seeking contract fulfilment would have to be withdrawn," a source with knowledge of the matter said, adding that everything was still open.

According to two sources, UniCredit's board will designate Andrea Orcel as the bank's new chief executive on Wednesday, paving the way for his appointment in April.

Santander declined to comment, while Orcel's spokesman was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Jesús Aguado; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo and Pamela Barbaglia; editing by Ingrid Melander)