Savings bank (Spain)

In Spain, a savings bank (Spanish: caja de ahorros or informally just caja, Catalan: caixa d'estalvis, Galician: caixa de aforros, informally 'caixa', Basque: aurrezki kutxa) is a financial institution which specializes in accepting savings deposits and granting loans. Their original aim was to create the habit of thrift amongst the very poor but they have evolved to compete with and rival commercial banks.

Their trade association is the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (Confederación Española de Cajas de Ahorro or CECA).

Emergence and growth

European countries which adopted the Scottish savings bank model early on were those in which traditional Protestant values of self-help and the ideas of Jeremy Bentham and Thomas Malthus were particularly influential. Such was not the case in Portugal and Spain where savings banks started rather late (1836 and 1839, respectively) and followed the French model (established in 1818).

Regulation introduced in 1835 was the first to authorise the establishment of savings banks in Spain. This piece of legislation allowed the establishment of independent non-profit-orientated institutions which had to be financed by own resources. However, it was not clear how individual institutions would access these resources although there were loose references to the expectation that capital would be raised as the well-off supplied financial resources as charitable donations.

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 all levels in the population. Often associated with social good these early banks were often designed to encourage low income people to save money and have access to banking services. They were set up by governments or by or socially committed groups or organisations such as with credit unions. The structure and legislation took many different forms in different countries over the 20th century.

The advent of internet banking at the end of the 20th century saw a new phase in savings banks with the online savings bank that paid higher levels of interest in return for clients only having access over the web.

History

In Europe, savings banks originated in the 19th or sometimes even the 18th century. Their original objective was to provide easily accessible savings products to all strata of the population. In some countries, savings banks were created on public initiative, while in others, socially committed individuals created foundations to put in place the necessary infrastructure.

Australian rules football in Europe

Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, each nation having a number of clubs, organised junior programs and women's football. The British AFL has now dramatically expanded into the Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 19 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.

The sport has grown from a few clubs and leagues started mainly by expatriate Australians and returning nationals in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to now having established leagues in over 15 nations, with the majority of players being non-Australian.

Spain (disambiguation)

Spain is a European country.

Spain may also refer to:

Other meanings

Music

Spain (European Parliament constituency)

In European elections, Spain is a constituency of the European Parliament, currently represented by fifty-four MEPs. It covers the entirety of Spain and is the largest European Parliament constituency in terms of geographic area.

Current MEPs

As of July 2012

1987

The first European election in Spain was a by-election held after it joined the European Communities in 1987. The rest of the EC had voted in 1984.

1989

The 1989 European election was the third election to the European Parliament and the first time Spain voted with the rest of the Community.

1994

The 1994 European election was the fourth election to the European Parliament and the third European election in Spain.

1999

The 1999 European election was the fifth election to the European Parliament.

2004

The 2004 European election was the sixth election to the European Parliament.

2009

References

External links