Banco Español de Crédito is rooted in a French-owned banking company which, promoted by
Isaac Pereire, was established in
Madrid on 28 January 1856, under the new Credit Companies Law, bearing the name of
Sociedad de Crédito Mobiliario Español. The company was primarily dedicated to covering the budget deficit of the
Government of Spain, through acquisitions of
public debt, and the granting of financial credits to public companies. After the
Spanish–American War, the financial reforms of
Raimundo Fernández Villaverde of 1900 and with the repatriation of the capitals of the former American colonies, the shareholders decide to liquidate the company and establish a new one, the
Credit Bank of Spain, on 1 May
1902, with a capital stock of 20 million
pesetas represented by 80,000 shares with a nominal value of 250 pesetas. The bank's promoter was a French group chaired by Gustavo Pereire, administrator of the Company of the Iron Roads of Northern Spain. This initiative was joined by Cayetano Sánchez Bustillo and León Cocagne (deputy director of Banco Hipotecario de España) on behalf of a group of Spanish investors. The first headquarters, the Building of the Furniture Credit Society, was located in
Paseo de Recoletos, Madrid. From 1940, Banesto began an expansion and absorption process of other entities that placed it amongst the most prominent Spanish banks. In 1955, Banesto acquired
Banco de Vitoria, which it maintained as a subsidiary until its full integration in 2003, and in 1978 it acquired Banco Coca, then chaired by Ignacio Coca. Banesto acquired
Banco del Pacífico in 1991 and integrated it. In 1993 it bought Banco de Concepción, but the merger was suspended when the Bank of Spain intervened in Banesto. When
Banco Santander acquired Banesto in 1994, they sold Banesto
Uruguay,
Chile, and Banco Shaw in
Argentina. Banesto Chile was sold to Banco Hipotecario de Fomento de Chile (BHIF). In 1998
BBVA bought BHIF.
Ana Patricia Botín, daughter of Santander president
Emilio Botín, served as
executive chair of the bank between 2002 and November 2010, when she moved to the position of CEO of
Santander UK. The Santander Group announced in December 2012, that it would purchase the remaining 10% of Banesto that it does not currently own, and will merge the business with the existing Banco Santander business in Spain. == 1993 crisis & intervention ==