In-depth interview by Yago de la Cierva, a professor at IESE and communication expert, with Pablo Pérez López, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Navarra, analyzing the career and personality of Luis Valls, who served as vice president, president, and co-president of Banco Popular for over 50 years.

Luis Valls stood out in many areas, but his most incredible legacy was his unique approach to banking. According to Pablo Pérez, “serving his clients came first; to achieve this, he had to take meticulous care of his employees and be exceptionally considerate of his shareholders.” Valls understood that a bank’s success depended on a delicate balance between these three pillars.

As Banco Popular’s president, he was clear that transparency was critical to its proper functioning. He was cautious in communicating his objectives and detailing their execution. One milestone that made him famous in Spain, as Pérez recounts, was the creation of the “Repertoire of Topics,” a document that provided a comprehensive report of everything happening within the bank. It did not hide what had gone wrong; “in fact, mistakes were explicitly disclosed to try to learn from them,” he emphasizes.

For Pérez, who has studied Luis Valls closely, Valls was a man with an “intense vision of reality,” always attentive to what was happening around him. “He saw the needs, not only of his family but also of others, and wanted to address them. What we later came to call Corporate Social Responsibility,” the professor explains.

Luis Valls’s approach to life and banking combined a humanistic vision with rigorous business management. His approach prioritized profitability, people’s well-being, and transparency in decision-making. This balance between financial results and social responsibility defined his character and distinguished him in the business world.