''Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo'' (CAM; Mediterranean Savings Bank) was a Spanish
savings bank
A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits.
They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to al ...
in Alicante, Valencia.
The savings bank failed with the burst of
the property bubble on Spain's Mediterranean coast. In the first nine months of 2011 it had lost €1.7
billion
Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions:
*1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English.
* 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...
and the bad loans ratio had reached 20.8 per cent.
[Sabadell takes gamble on stricken CAM](_blank)
by Miles Johnson, Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
, Dec 7, 2011 In December 2011, it was sold to
Banco Sabadell
Banco de Sabadell, S.A. ( ca, Banc Sabadell) is a Spanish multinational financial services company headquartered in Alicante and Barcelona, Spain. It is the 4th-largest Spanish banking group. It includes several banks, brands, subsidiaries and a ...
for one euro.
History
CAM was the result of integration at different stages of 29 financial institutions, the oldest of which traces its origins to 1875.
[Corporate Social Responsibility Report, 2007]
/ref> As of December 31, 2007, CAM was the fourth largest Spanish savings bank in terms of customer loans and deposits, and the 3rd largest in the market share and the number of offices.
Originating in the provinces of Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
and Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
, the bank provided services across Spain through a network of over 1,100 offices and 7,100 employees serving 3,300,000 customers.[ CAM activities were mainly focused on retail banking for individuals and SMEs. The bank also provided such financial services as insurance and asset management.
Like other ]Spanish savings banks
In Spain, a savings bank ( es, caja de ahorros or informally just ''caja'', ca, caixa d'estalvis, gl, caixa de aforros, informally caixa, eu, aurrezki kutxa) is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and granti ...
, ''Caja Mediterráneo'' was a non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
social institution.[Articles of Association. Caja Mediterráneo]
/ref> According to CAM, more than 5,100,000 people have benefited from its social commitment activities with a budget of 60.1 million euros for 2007.
In 2008, ''Caja Mediterráneo'' issued non-voting
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with ...
public shares
In financial markets, a share is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation, and can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Share capital refers to all of the shares of a ...
traded on Madrid Stock Exchange
Bolsa de Madrid (; Madrid Stock Exchange) is the largest and most international of Spain's four regional stock exchanges (the others are located in Barcelona, Valencia, and Bilbao) that trade shares and convertible bonds and fixed income securiti ...
. CAM was the first Spanish savings bank to issue public shares. In the initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...
(IPO), CAM raised €292 million, which turned out to be the largest IPO of 2008 on Madrid Stock Exchange.
Luis de Guindos, boss of Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...
when "''cuotas participativas''" were sold, explained in 2008 that this product would be studied in Business Schools some years later. However, in December 2011 the stock price of this kind of non-voting public shares was suspended at a value of €1,34 and thousands of people lost all their savings. At the moment of the initial public offering (IPO), Francisco Galiano and José Pina Galiana were in the CAM team.
''Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo'' adopted its current name in 1988, and has been using the trademark ''Caja Mediterráneo'' since 2007. It was previously known as ''Caja de Ahorros de Alicante y Murcia''. The bank absorbed
* ''Caja de Ahorros de Torrent'', founded in 1906, in 1988 and
* ''Caja de Ahorros Provincial de Alicante y Valencia'' in 1991.[
In turn, the ''Caja de Ahorros de Alicante y Murcia'' was formed in 1975 through the merger of the following savings banks:
* ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de ]Alcoy
Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...
'', founded in 1875
* ''Caja de Ahorros de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores'' in Crevillent
Crevillent ( es, Crevillente) is a town and municipality located in the Alicante province, part of the Valencian Community, Spain. It is situated in the ''comarca'' of Baix Vinalopó, and lies at the foot of the hill range known locally as Serra ...
, founded in 1903
* ''Caja de Ahorros de Novelda
Novelda (, ; ) is a town located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 27,135 inhabitants.
Novelda has important quarries and mines of marble, limestone, silica, clay and gypsum. It is a major centre of the marble ind ...
'' founded in 1903
* ''Caja de Ahorros de Nuestra Señora de Monserrate'' in Orihuela
Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mu ...
, created in 1906 under the name ''Caja de Ahorros y Socorros y Monte de Piedad de Nuestra Señora de Monserrate''
* ''Caja de Ahorros del Sureste de España'', founded in 1940, as a merger of
** ''Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
'', founded in 1877,
** ''Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
'', founded in 1924
** ''Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Cartagena'', founded in 1921
** ''Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,[Jumilla
Jumilla () is a town and a municipality in southeastern Spain. It is located in the north east of the Region of Murcia, close to the towns of Cieza and Yecla. According to the 2018 census, the town population was 25,547.
Geography
The municip ...]
'', founded in 1893
** ''Caja de Ahorro y Monte de Piedad de Yecla
Yecla () is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the extreme north of the autonomous community of Murcia, located 96 km from the capital of the region, Murcia.
Toponymy
The origin of the term Yecla comes from the Arabic Yakka, which ...
'', founded in 1902, and
** ''Caja Rural de Ahorros y Préstamos del Sindicato Católico Agrícola de Yecla
Yecla () is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the extreme north of the autonomous community of Murcia, located 96 km from the capital of the region, Murcia.
Toponymy
The origin of the term Yecla comes from the Arabic Yakka, which ...
'', founded in 1921, and
** ''Caja Rural de Ahorros y Préstamos del Sindicato Católico Agrícola de El Progreso'' founded in 1919 in Caudete
Caudete () is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Albacete, Castilla–La Mancha. It has a population of 10.163 (From INE 2015). It is part of the Altiplanicie de Almansa ''comarca''.
History
Following its Christian conquest in 1 ...
.[
One year later, in 1976, the ''Caja de Ahorros de Alicante y Murcia'' absorbed the ''Caja de Ahorros de ]Alhama de Murcia
Alhama de Murcia is a Spanish municipality in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia. It is located in the north of the southern half of the region. The municipality shares borders with Librilla in its north, Murcia in its northeast, Fu ...
'', which had been founded in 1902.[
Further, the ''Caja de Ahorros Provincial de Alicante y Valencia'' was created in 1990 by merging
* ''Caja de Ahorros Provincial de Alicante'', founded in 1953, and
* ''Caja de Ahorros Provincial de Valencia'', founded in 1983.][
In the 1990s, CAM acquired the subsidiaries in Spain of the Italian bank ]Intesa Sanpaolo
Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. is an Italian international banking group. It is Italy's largest bank by total assets and the world's 27th largest. It was formed through the merger of Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI in 2007, but has a corporate identity ...
and the English Abbey National Bank.
See also
* Spanish property bubble
The Spanish property bubble is the collapsed overshooting part of a long-term price increase of Spanish real estate prices. This long-term price increase has happened in various stages from 1985 up to 2008. The housing bubble can be clearly divi ...
References
External links
Caja Mediterráneo
official website (English, Spanish, Valencian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caja De Ahorros Del Mediterraneo
Defunct banks of Spain
Economy of the Valencian Community
Alicante