Banca Privada d'Andorra (, BPA) was a bank in
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
founded in 1957.
History
Banca Privada d'Andorra was created in 1957 under the name of Banca Cassany and began its activities in 1958. In 1993
Caixa Catalunya
CatalunyaCaixa () was the trading name of Catalunya Banc S.A., a Spanish bank with headquarters in Barcelona and owned by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), and absorbed by it in 2016. Its area of influence is located mainly in Catalonia. It ...
became a shareholder and the entity changed its name to Banca Privada d'Andorra, SA. Starting in 2000, when Caixa Catalunya was no longer a shareholder of BPA, the bank became controlled by 100% Andorran capital.
In 2003, BPA began an international expansion plan to consolidate its presence worldwide and established a presence in six countries. As part of its growth plan in Spain, in July 2011 BPA acquired Banco Madrid, a private banking entity which was owned until then by
Kutxa
The Kutxa (pronounced ; short for eu, Gipuzkoa eta Donostiako Aurrezki Kutxa "Savings Bank of Gipuzkoa and San Sebastián") is a savings bank mainly operating within a regional scope in the Gipuzkoa province of Spain. Its Spanish name is ''Caja ...
(Caja de Ahorros de Guipúzcoa y San Sebastián). With this operation, BPA became the first Andorran entity to obtain a banking license in Spain. Also in 2011 BPA completed the purchase of the securities firm Interdin S.A., which is ninth in a ranking of companies per trading volume.
The expansion process in Spain continued in 2012, when BPA increased its managed resources volume by 50% by the purchase of the asset managing company Nordkapp, which was owned by
Banco de Valencia
The Bank of Valencia was the sixth bank in Spain, and had its headquarters in the city of Valencia, Valencia. It was founded on March 20, 1900, and its first president Jose Tartiere Lenegre. Ten years later, the bank already appeared in the Indus ...
. In January 2013, Banco Madrid, BPA's Spanish subsidiary, announced the purchase of the assets managing company Liberbank Gestión and consolidated collective investment products into a single company, Banco Madrid Gestión de Activos. In March 2014 Banco Madrid purchased Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN) and started managing its investment funds. With the incorporation of BMN Gestión de Activos, Banco Madrid took its place in the
Inverco ranking among the Top 15 institutions in volume of assets under management, with investment funds and
SICAV
A SICAV is a collective investment scheme common in Western Europe, especially Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Malta, France, and the Czech Republic. SICAV is an acronym in French for ''société d'investissement à capital variabl ...
s of more than €4,500 million.
Pandora Papers — money laundering
According to the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C. with pe ...
(ICIJ), the bank is further implicated in the second release of leaked documents by the ICIJ, subsequent to the
Panama Papers
The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...
. Known as the
Pandora Papers
The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents with 2.9 terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021. The leak exposed the secret offshore accounts of 3 ...
, documents reveal that Panamanian law firm
Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee
Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee (commonly known by its abbreviation Alcogal) is a law firm based in Panama. Founded in 1985, the firm represents several multinational companies that operate in Panama and was chosen as the Central American law fir ...
(Alcogal) had established over 200 shell companies for BPA.
March 2015 money laundering investigation
On March 10, 2015, the
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
said that BPA is a "primary
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
concern", involving four US correspondent banks, criminal groups in Russia and China and Venezuelan money launderers. The board of directors and three of the bank's managers were suspended as of 11 March 2015 by the
Institut Nacional Andorrà de Finances
Andorran Financial Authority (AFA), known as ''Andorran National Institute of Finance'' (''INAF'') between 1989 and 2018, is a public financial institution founded in 1989 that provides functions of financial regulation and control of the financi ...
. On March 13, the chief executive officer Joan Pau Miquel Prats was arrested and imprisoned;
[James Titcomb]
"Andorra on the brink of Europe's next banking crisis"
''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', 30 March 2015, accessed 30 March 2015 Spanish and Andorran regulators took over control of BPA and its subsidiary Banco de Madrid. On March 16, Banco de Madrid ceased operations and applied for protection from creditors after funds withdrawals. The U.S. Treasury
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terr ...
(FinCEN) director
stated that corrupt management and "BPA’s corrupt high–level managers and weak anti-money-laundering controls have made BPA an easy vehicle for third–party money launderers".
Subsequently withdrawals for those holding accounts were capped at €2,500 per week. BPA's assets were nominally assessed at €3 bn., far exceeding the Andorran Government's annual budget of €400m. Should the bank fail it would be virtually impossible for the government to support it, meaning it would have to be sold or put into
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
. The situation has also raised questions about the solvency of the province's other major banks.
The non-toxic assets of the bank were put into newly created
Vall Banc
Vall is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Ely Ould Mohamed Vall (born 1953), Mauritanian military officer
* Raymond Vall (born 1942), French politician
See also
* Örjans Vall, football stadium in Halmstad, Sweden
* Vall, the ...
, which was sold to J.C. Flowers in 2017.
There are more than 500 depositors of the bank who have grouped together around PLATAFORMA D'AFECTATS BPA and are initiating a class action against the government of Andorra (specifically INAF) for alleged mismanagement and gross misconduct in their management of BPA.
INAFs management engaged
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
(PWC) to carry out an audit of the banks depositors to separate good clients from bad. The fee negotiated for this service was 30 million Euros and was paid directly to PWC. Such an amount represents 14% of the BPA Group's total available assets, an amount disputed by depositors on the class action forum.
Subsidiaries
BPA had subsidiaries in six different countries:
* In Andorra: Banca Privada d'Andorra, SA
* In Spain: Banco Madrid, S.A. BMGA SGIIC, S.A.U, Interdin Bolsa, S.V., S.A.
* In Switzerland: BPA-IPWM S.A.
* In Luxembourg: BPA Financing S.àr.l.
* In Panama: Banca Privada d'Andorra (Panamá), S.A., BPA Valores S.A.
* In Uruguay: Noswey, S.A.
Asset management
At the end of 2013, the BPA Group's total volume of assets under management had reached 7,074 million euros, of which 3,660 million corresponded to its activities in the Spanish market through its subsidiary Banco Madrid.
Corporate responsibility
In 2013 BPA earmarked 21.02% of its profits to activities related to corporate responsibility in the economic, social and environmental fields. Social initiatives, which include employment aspects, community programs and sports activities represent 94.54% of the resources that BPA intended for corporate responsibility. In 2013, the Group got ratified its certification as a Family Responsible Company awarded by the Fundación Másfamilia, with the approval of the Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Policies and Equality.
BPA performed most of its corporate responsibility activities through the Private Foundation Banca Privada d'Andorra, a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 2008 with the objective of encouraging projects and services to improve the lives of citizens, from welfare, social, employment and environmental perspective.
The Foundation promotes its own projects and other initiatives in collaboration with Andorran associations and entities, and its priority actions include the integration of vulnerable groups and training professionals in the social field.
See also
*
List of banks in Andorra
This is a list of banks in Andorra.
* Andbank
* Banc Sabadell d'Andorra ('A)
* Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA), under resolution.
* Crèdit Andorrà
*
* Mora Banc Grup
* , created May 2016, inherits BPA assets.
{{List of banks in Europe
*
Ban ...
*
Panama Papers
The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...
References
External links
*
Banco MadridInterdinAssociació de Bancs Andorrans (ABA) (Association of Andorran Banks)Andorran Financial Authority (AFA) (Andorran Financial Authority)BPA Banca Privada d'Andorra BANK Class Action Forum
{{Authority control
Banks of Andorra