Caja Laboral Popular Cooperativa de Crédito or Caja Laboral (Workers' Credit Union) was a Spanish credit union established in 1959 as part of the Mondragon Corporation and headquartered in Mondragón, in the Basque Country of Spain.[1] The major financial provider behind the Basque cooperative movement, Caja Laboral covered the financial segment of Mondragon and provided banking and financial services to its customers through a network of over 370 branch offices in the Basque Country and beyond. With over 1800 employees (who were actually the partners-owners of the bank following the cooperative philosophy of shared ownership and stewardship), Caja Laboral generated annual revenue in excess of €330 million.[2]
Together with its sister social assurance company Lagun Aro, Caja Laboral spearheaded the Financial Group of the Mondragon Corporation, which according to company sources 'operates autonomously within the framework of a sole joint strategy'. It was the first Spanish financial institution to open its branches in the late afternoons/early evenings.
Caja Laboral was mostly unaffected by the 2008 financial crisis, though they did have €162 million in bonds from Lehman Brothers.[3]