It feels unusual to scrutinize every detail of a commercial asset that so fully satisfies a large, industrious community, as if time stood still. For thirty long years he participated in the life of Elda. The anniversary serves to briefly recall the bank’s founding in the town in 1933, and to reflect on what that event meant for a community in the midst of the 1930s. The date is remembered with a renewed fervor each year as the Second Republic is celebrated, and April 14th is observed with notable enthusiasm.
The truth is that 1933 might not have been the ideal year to establish a local bank. Its mission extended beyond banking to act as a Savings Bank, opening savings accounts for factory workers and directing their payroll deposits into a local institution. In doing so, it helped cultivate savings within the community, an impact we will explore. Europe faced little optimism that year: Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, reshaping the continental landscape. At the same time, the United States endured the Great Depression, with market declines echoing across European economies. Domestic weakness, a broad slowdown in economic activity, and dwindling export demand all weighed heavily. Yet reform efforts by the republics pushed forward across sectors, even if the outcomes for society at large remained uneven.
On the occasion of 1934, the Board of Banco de Elda asserted, through the public record, that they had faced the crisis years with the constraints of banking, meeting challenges to the best of their modest abilities. The bank aimed to serve industrialists and contribute to the local economy, comforting the sense that lending could ease critical credit gaps during hard times. Ángel Vera Coronel, from the bank’s podium, gathered the community’s concerns around the Banco de Elda project and sought to soothe credit thirst during periods of economic stress that affected the entire region.
A few years later, civil war erupted and the region endured intense upheaval. During the conflict, the bank’s activity dwindled to near zero, and news arrived that Mr. Vera Coronel, who had served as Civil Governor of Zaragoza, was believed to have faced execution in Zaragoza, with past roles in Cáceres and Cadiz noted. Tragically, the turbulence did not end there. In 1939-1940, a new Council, influenced by Falangism and Francisco Franco’s regime, moved to celebrate a victorious year and began efforts to reassemble the bank’s operations.
From the postwar period through the 1950s, families, footwear workers, and the Banco de Elda family faced very challenging times. A summary would point to economic autarky and isolation in international markets, where perfomances in various sectors, from the black market to shoe manufacturing raw materials, were strained. The bank’s commercial position grew more stable, but ownership shifted; much of the equity passed to two investment groups, and finally the team that safeguarded the bank’s capitalization emerged, led by Angel Úbeda Gregorio in partnership with Banco Úbeda. Discussions with the Central Bank regarding share packages followed, and the bank pressed on until its dissolution in 1963, a period that saw European and American shoe exports resume and the International Footwear and Allied Industries Fair open its doors.
With a sense of gratitude for the workforce, the bank’s supporters acknowledge the careful attention shown by all Banco de Elda employees and managers who ensured the community’s continuity. Simultaneously, the records and annual reports preserved Banco de Elda’s legacy, and thanks are due to the Banco Santander History Archive for maintaining those documents. After all, through various acquisitions and reorganizations, Banco de Elda remained a core thread in Santander’s DNA.