TESTIMONIALS
Aristóbulo de Juan
Short version (3 min.)
“Luis Valls always sought to be surrounded by people who knew more than he did”
We are probably talking about the person who knows the most about banking in Spain, a prominent figure in the health of banks: Aristóbulo de Juan.
As he defines himself, this microeconomist worked at Banco Popular in various positions until he became the general director. In 1978, the Bank of Spain called him to lead the operation “Rescue of the Spanish Banking Crisis.”
Aristóbulo had a very close relationship with Luis Valls and tells us that Valls was enigmatic, with ideas very different from others. Although he sometimes found it difficult to convince his teams, “he always got his way.” De Juan describes him as “with a great sense of humor, very quick, and great intuition and foresight.”
The expert and renowned economist highly values Valls’ work at the bank but also recounts that he wanted to go further by creating FACES (Promotion of Cultural, Economic, and Social Activities), an instrument to have a voice in public life. This body included people of all political currents and ideologies—right-wing, left-wing, center, and liberals. In this regard, Aristóbulo recounts how Luis Valls—before the Communist Party was legalized—wrote a letter to the government so that Dolores Ibárruri, “La Pasionaria,” could return to Spain. He emphasizes that, at Valls’ proposal, Banco Popular, in the first democratic elections, “financed all political parties” with the blessing of its board. He assured us that it was the only bank that had the approval of all its advisors and recovered all the money.
Years after the transition, in line with his idea of influencing public life and collaborating, he participated in the famous bankers’ lunches, dubbed “the seven greats.” De Juan said Valls “became very respected and listened to” at these meetings.
Aristóbulo describes him as an intelligent person who always stood out for seeking to be surrounded by people “who knew more than he did.” This ensured that the bank’s good work, along with Luis Valls’ personality, were the main attractions for attracting and retaining talent.