HIS LIFE
His Family
As stated in old encyclopedias, Luis Valls was born into a traditional family of the Catalan bourgeoisie. For generations, his family had connections in politics, the textile industry, academic teaching, and, of course, banking.
Parents and Siblings
Luis Valls’ parents were Ferrán and Marcelina. Ferrán was a professor of Legal History at the University of Barcelona, director of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon, and a distinguished historian specializing in medieval law. He authored an extensive body of work, including his famous Història de Catalunya. He participated in politics with the Lliga de Cambò and served as a deputy from a position of moderate Catalanism. During the Spanish Civil War, the family lived in Italy, where Ferrán worked at the Academy of Spain in Rome. Upon returning to Spain, he worked as an archivist and librarian in Córdoba. Back in Barcelona, Ferrán Valls resumed the directorship of the Crown of Aragon’s Archive, presiding over the Ateneo, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and the Barcelonian Economic Society of Friends of the Country. In 1942, he finally achieved the long-desired chair of Legal History at the University of Barcelona, misfortune was to have it that he died that same year. Luis was the fifth of six siblings and was six years older than the youngest, Javier, who would co-chair the Banco Popular with him for years. The other two brothers, Pedro and Félix, also worked at the bank and notably helped Luis enter the Popular by buying shares in the bank. The sisters, Montserrat and Mª Rosa were figures to whom Luis felt very attached.
A Family Linked to Banking
To better understand the rest of Luis Valls’ family, we refer to his chapter in the most comprehensive book about Banco Popular1. Although he was the most notable, Luis was not the only member of his family tree with social or business relevance. It can be said that his family was very distinguished within the economic world of Barcelona. His paternal great-grandfather, Esteban Valls, founded a textile company; his great-uncle, Domingo Taberner, also excelled in business; Esteban Valls’s brother, Isidro, was the bishop of Girona, and another brother, José, was a law professor at the University of Barcelona. On his mother’s side, the relative who most influenced Luis Valls’s life was Félix Millet i Maristany, his mother’s first cousin, who was the president of the bank when Luis first joined it and who considered him as his successor in the presidency. With his support, Luis Valls joined Banco Popular. Lastly, two of Luis Valls’s uncles were also involved in banking: José (Pepe) Valls Taberner was a director at Banesto, and his brother Domingo was with Banco Exterior.
Bibliography
(1) Book History of Banco Popular. The Struggle for Independence (Gabriel Tortella, José María Ortiz-Villajos, José Luis García Ruiz. Marcial Pons, 2011).
