Bank of Spain sanctions former CAM director for two very serious infractions

El Banco de España has published two sanctions totaling 35,500 euros against Pilar Aurora Cáceres González, a former director of the now-defunct Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo (CAM), for the commission of two violations categorized as “very serious.” These penalties were disclosed in a notice by the Bank of Spain and referenced in the Official State Bulletin. The sanctions follow a regulatory decision that aligned with the government’s March 8, 2022 ministerial order by Nadia Calviño, who at the time served as the first vice president of the government and minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. This order ended the case opened in 2012 against CAM and its executives by the Bank of Spain. In July 2022, most of the former CAM board members and supervisory committee members had already learned the final sanction amounts they would face and chose not to appeal, while around twenty others contested the penalties. Cáceres was among those who opted for appeal. She played a seat on the board through the instigator shareholders’ quota. After the ministerial order became final in her case, the Bank of Spain proceeded to publish the sanctions against Cáceres in the BOE. This represents the formal conclusion of the disciplinary process as it applied to her under the corresponding resolution. The first sanction consists of a 25,000-euro fine for a “very serious” infringement under Law 26/1988 on the Discipline and Intervention of Credit Entities, as it was in force when the facts occurred. The ruling noted that the entity exhibited material deficiencies in its organizational structure, internal control mechanisms, and administrative and accounting procedures, including those related to risk management and control. Such deficiencies compromised the solvency and viability of CAM. The second sanction amounts to 10,500 euros for another “very serious” violation under the same law. It concerns the lack of legally required accounting or accounting conducted with essential irregularities that prevented a true and fair view of CAM’s patrimony and financial position. These penalties reflect the regulator’s assessment that CAM failed to maintain compliant and transparent financial records, hindering the ability to monitor the institution’s health. The Bank of Spain’s disciplinary action, now closed through final ministerial approval, signifies a decisive accountability step for actors involved in the CAM episode. The public record of these penalties follows a long regulatory process that began a decade earlier with the 2012 inspection and later legal steps, illustrating how supervisory authorities address systemic weaknesses in savings banks. The case continues to serve as a reference point for governance and risk-management reforms undertaken in the Spanish banking sector. The sanctions were issued in a formal administrative framework and remain a matter of public record, illustrating the ongoing oversight of historic banking sector events and the accountability framework that governs credit entities in Spain.