Banco Europeo de Finanzas

Banco Europeo de Finanzas (BEF) is a Spanish credit institution headquartered in Málaga. It originated in the late 1980s as a private bank wholly owned by Unicaja, and was later restructured in 2007 to bring together the interests of several Andalusian savings banks (cajas de ahorros). Its historical activities focused on corporate finance, financing of large investment and infrastructure projects, management of industrial holdings, projects of common interest, and centralised collection, payment and treasury services for Andalusian public administrations. In recent years the bank has had very little activity. Ownership evolved through the consolidation of the Spanish savings-bank sector. After the merger of El Monte de Piedad with Caja San Fernando and Unicaja's acquisition of Caja de Jaén, the shareholding concentrated around Unicaja, Cajasol, CajaSur and Caja Granada. CajaSur exited in 2011 after being acquired by BBK, and in November 2017 Unicaja Banco took sole control of BEF, facilitating the exit of CaixaBank and Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN) through a capital reduction. In May 2021 it was reported that the investment boutique Beka Finance was finalising the purchase of BEF's banking licence from Unicaja Banco, although that transaction did not ultimately complete as reported. On 30 July 2024 it was announced that the Andorran bank MoraBanc had reached an agreement to acquire 100% of BEF's capital from Unicaja Banco. The purchase was completed on 28 July 2025 for EUR 45 million, giving MoraBanc a banking licence to operate as a bank in Spain. BEF is therefore now a wholly owned Spanish subsidiary of MoraBanc, the family-owned Andorran financial group with more than 70 years of experience in private, corporate and commercial banking and presence in Spain, the United States and Switzerland. Through its Spanish platform, MoraBanc integrates the structure of a bank with the wealth-planning specialisation of Tressis, its group company founded in 2000.

Banco Europeo de Finanzas (BEF) traces its origin to a private bank that began operating in the late 1980s and was wholly owned by Unicaja. With the intention of uniting the interests of the Andalusian savings banks, a new board of directors was constituted in 2007. Braulio Medel Cámara, chairman of Unicaja, was appointed chairman, and Santiago Gómez Sierra, chairman of Cajasur, was appointed vice-chairman. The board was made up of the chairmen of the institutions, the general managers of four of them (with the exception of the general manager of Caja de Jaén), and the first and second vice-chairmen of Unicaja. The share capital was initially distributed as follows: Unicaja 33%, CajaSur 16.5%, El Monte de Piedad 16.5%, Caja San Fernando 16.5%, Caja Granada 16.5%, and Caja de Jaén 1%. On 27 September 2010, the chairman of Caja Granada, Antonio Jara, was elected chairman of the entity. By then, following the merger of El Monte de Piedad with Caja San Fernando and Unicaja's acquisition of Caja de Jaén, the holdings had accumulated as follows: Unicaja 34%, Cajasol 33%, and CajaSur and Caja Granada with 16.5% each. In 2012, the executive vice-chairman of Unicaja Banco, Manuel Atencia, was elected as the new chairman. In November 2013, it was announced that the Junta de Andalucía was considering the purchase of Banco Europeo de Finanzas — then owned by Unicaja Banco with 40.7% of the capital, CaixaBank with 39.5%, and Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN) with 19.8% — in order to obtain a banking licence and provide itself with a public bank as an instrument to improve financing of the regional economy, in response to what it considered insufficient action by traditional private banking. However, days later the Andalusian government confirmed that it had no plans for such a purchase. BEF had been at the centre of an entire Andalusian financial project backed by the now-defunct savings banks and by the regional government, which initially clashed with the reticence of the Banco de España. The Junta de Andalucía had long dreamed of creating a large regional savings bank or a bank that would include all the numerous industrial holdings that the savings institutions had in their portfolios. But everything remained a project, as the chairmen of the different Andalusian savings banks failed to reach agreement and could not make the bank project prosper, compounded by the financial crisis. On 15 November 2017, it was announced that Unicaja Banco would take sole control of Banco Europeo de Finanzas, of which it held 40.72% of the capital. The Málaga-based institution facilitated the exit of CaixaBank and Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN), which had inherited the shareholder status of Cajasol and Caja Granada respectively. Cajasur, the fourth shareholder, had already exited in 2011 when it was acquired by BBK and its shares were distributed proportionally among the remaining shareholders. The formula chosen to materialise the exit of CaixaBank and BMN was a capital reduction, through the amortisation of their shares and the recovery of the money contributed. On 14 May 2021, it was announced that the investment boutique Beka Finance was finalising the purchase of the banking licence of BEF, an entity with practically no activity, from Unicaja Banco. That transaction did not ultimately complete as reported. On 30 July 2024, it was announced that the Andorran bank MoraBanc had reached an agreement to purchase 100% of the capital of BEF from Unicaja Banco. On 28 July 2025, that purchase was completed for an amount of EUR 45 million, which will allow MoraBanc to operate as a bank in Spain. BEF is now a wholly owned Spanish subsidiary of MoraBanc, the family-owned Andorran financial group headquartered in the Principality of Andorra with a presence in Spain, the United States and Switzerland, and more than 70 years of experience in private, corporate and commercial banking. Through its Spanish platform, MoraBanc combines the solidity of a bank with the wealth-management specialisation of Tressis, its group company with 25 years of track record.

• Originates as a private bank wholly owned by Unicaja.

• New board of directors constituted to unite Andalusian savings banks' interests; Braulio Medel Cámara appointed chairman and Santiago Gómez Sierra vice-chairman.

• Antonio Jara, chairman of Caja Granada, elected chairman of BEF.

• Cajasur exits as shareholder after being acquired by BBK; its shares distributed proportionally among remaining shareholders.

• Manuel Atencia, executive vice-chairman of Unicaja Banco, elected chairman.

• Junta de Andalucía reportedly considers buying BEF to obtain a banking licence; days later confirms no such plan.

• Unicaja Banco to take sole control of BEF; CaixaBank and BMN exit via capital reduction.

• Beka Finance reported to be finalising purchase of BEF's banking licence from Unicaja Banco.

• MoraBanc agrees to acquire 100% of BEF's capital from Unicaja Banco.

• MoraBanc completes acquisition of BEF for EUR 45 million, enabling it to operate as a bank in Spain.

A Spanish banking entity with a long Andalusian savings-bank heritage, now serving as MoraBanc's licensed banking platform in Spain.

• Corporate finance

  Financing for companies and large investment and infrastructure projects.

• Industrial holdings management

  Management of industrial shareholdings and projects of common interest.

• Treasury and payment services

  Centralised collection, payment and treasury services for Andalusian public administrations.

1. 1MoraBanc España | Banca Privadamorabanc.es
2. 2Gobierno corporativo. Documentos legales.morabanc.es
3. 3Banco Europeo de Finanzas - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Banco Europeo de Finanzas - Wikipedia (es)es.wikipedia.org