Banesto

Banco Español de Crédito, S.A. (), “Spanish Credit Bank”) better known as Banesto, was a Spanish multinational financial services company. Prior to the Spanish Government's historical intervention in 1993, the first in the history of banking, Banesto was the third-largest financial group in Spain, operating around 1,770 branches, as well as the fifth-largest company of the IBEX 35. The ambitious capital increase planned in 1993 by its Executive Chairman Mario Conde together with J.P. Morgan became the biggest restructuring plan in the history of Europe, involving asset sales and a rights issue of US$1.2 billion, after which Banesto was expected to become the largest financial firm in Europe. Although initially accepted by the Bank of Spain, it was later frustrated following intervention on the basis of financial transparency.

In October 1987, Mario Conde and Juan Abelló became major shareholders of Banesto. Soon after, on 30 November, Conde was appointed as the Executive Chairman, serving from 16 December 1987 to 29 December 1993. With a patrimonial hole in Banesto tentatively estimated at €3.6 billion (equivalent to roughly US$7.2 billion today) on 28 December 1993, Luis Carlos Croissier, the President of the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, the financial regulator of the national securities markets, decided to impose a trading halt on Banesto, and Luis Ángel Rojo, the Governor of the Bank of Spain, communicated the intervention of the banking entity, tasking Alfredo Sáenz Abad with chairing the board of directors of Banesto in a temporary basis. Conde, who stayed in preventive detention from December 1994 to January 1995, faced a trail of judicial problems. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in March 2000 by the Audiencia Nacional (raised to 20 years in 2002 by the Supreme Court). He served 11 years before being paroled.

After the intervention, the team of managers from BBV, headed by Alfredo Sáenz, assumed initial control of the bank and was responsible for executing a sanitation plan. On April 25, 1994, Banco Santander gained control of the bank by winning an auction put forward by the Bank of Spain, thus becoming the largest Spanish financial group. It offered 313.5 billion pesetas (US$2 billion), which meant an offer of 762 pesetas per share, compared to the 667 pesetas offered by BBV and 566 of Argentaria.

In 2012, Santander announced it would absorb Banesto and rebrand all of its divisions and offices.

Outside of Spain, Banesto became well-known as the sponsor of the cycling team that featured Miguel Indurain, the first rider to win five consecutive Tour de France. The team is currently known as Movistar Team. Provided by Wikipedia