Foundations with political governance and no shareholders, lending into a property bubble. What replaced them, and what it cost.
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Spain Banking & Finance
Expert guides, analysis and tool comparisons on Spain Banking & Finance from the kurums.com Startup desk — written for business decision-makers and updated as the market moves.
- 5 guides
- Updated Sep 1, 2026
Latest in Spain Banking & Finance
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Banco Sabadell: The Bank Its Own Customers Refused to Sell
41% retail shareholders, 80% of them customers. The most effective takeover defence in European banking required no lawyers at all.
CaixaBank: The Savings Bank That Became Spain’s Largest Lender
Santander got large by leaving Spain. CaixaBank got large by consolidating what was left of it.
Santander: How a Spanish Bank Built 180 Million Customers
Europe refused to integrate its banking market, so Santander went to Brazil, Mexico, Britain and the United States instead.
BBVA and Sabadell: Anatomy of a €16 Billion Takeover That Failed
Seventeen months, a government veto on integration, a sweetened final offer — and 97% of customer-shareholders still said no.