Best Bank: CaixaBank

CaixaBank has its roots in corporate responsibility. It was founded in 1904 with the aim of fostering savings, retirement planning and disability insurance for the working class. The bank provides an interesting blueprint for CSR today through two institutions: the La Caixa Foundation and MicroBank, its specialist microlender.

Rising interest margins help Spain’s biggest domestic bank more than most, but intense competition in mortgages means that fee-earning products are still vital.

After merging with Bankia, CaixaBank has become the undisputed champion of Spanish retail banking. At a time when the sector is facing profound challenges, it’s already on the way to realizing crucial cost savings. Euromoney talks to executive chairman José Ignacio Goirigolzarri and chief executive Gonzalo Gortázar about this transformational merger.

As Spain prepares to digest the €17 billion merger of CaixaBank and Bankia, Andalucían lender Unicaja has revived merger talks with rival Liberbank as it faces a threat to its regional dominance. While its community roots are an advantage, it also needs an answer to the calls for change

Rushing back to capital distributions won’t solve the sector’s deeper crisis.

Putting together Spain’s two biggest domestic lenders makes sense, because, while both have good management, one side is better skilled at cross-selling.

The ECB has been pushing consolidation in the hope that it will make European banks more efficient and sustainable, but it will require large-scale job losses in a weak economy.