Javier Pérez-Sala Valls-Taberner, nephew of Luis Valls, nostalgically shares some memories about his uncle that reflect his character and life.

During a period when Javier was working in Madrid, he took every opportunity to visit his uncle Luis at the Beatriz Building. When the banker travailed to Barcelona, he would visit Javier’s parents’ house. Breakfast was the ideal time to get him to talk; he liked to speak when he felt relaxed.

Like his grandfather and his father, Luis Valls was always a leader of his generation. A fundamental aspect of Luis’s life, according to his nephew, besides the influence of his father, was his vocation to Opus Dei when he was young. This experience profoundly shaped his character and worldview.

Luis Valls Luis Valls is a difficult person to match. Javier acknowledges that the sanctification of daily work is one of the excellent basic principles of Opus Dei. According to his nephew, Luis Valls worked in accordance with this principle and lived with extreme delicacy the virtues of poverty, chastity, and obedience, making him almost ‘a priest banker’.

Luis Valls followed a straightforward motto: “The advertising we need, no propaganda, and total transparency.” He had a remarkable detachment from material things, focusing his life on internal growth from a young age. His character and consistency lasted throughout his life. Though flexible in his actions, he always remained true to his principles.

His life revolved around work, Opus Dei, and family. Although not a person inclined to frequent laughter, his irony and sense of humor were evident in a constant half-smile. Luis preferred to stay in the background, enjoying his time in San Rafael, a small town in Segovia, where he sought solitude as a refuge.

When Fernando Camacho passed away, and Banco Popular needed a new president, Luis tried to have his brother Javier take the position while he remained vice president. However, even with the authority he had, that idea did not convince the bank’s board, and Luis ended up assuming the presidency. Still, Javier Pérez-Sala notes that “as soon as he had the opportunity, he appointed co-presidents in order to remain in the background.” An anecdote his nephew relates, reflecting his desire to stay anonymous, is that “when my mother suggested to Luis that he write his memoirs, he humbly replied; no memoirs . No one would be interested in buying that book.”

Luis had few hobbies, devoting himself entirely to his inner , spiritual life, and to his professional life. In essence, he was, iaccording to his nephew Javier, “a work machine”.