“Luis Valls was my mentor.” That’s how firmly Miguel Ángel Luna speaks about the figure of the Barcelona banker.

Luna began his career at Banco Popular in 1987 in the Caja de Promoción y Crédito, an initiative whose goal was “no good student should miss out on education for lack of means.” He explains, “His credit was based on grades; without them, they didn’t get renewed.” It was also explained that it was a loan, not a gift, so they had to repay it in comfortable installments to “help others again.” Luna amusingly recalls, “I still run into people on the street who thank me, saying, ‘Thanks, Miguel Ángel, because of you, I could do a master’s.'” He clarifies that the gratitude was for Luis Valls—he was just the visible face.

After his time at Caja de Promoción y Crédito, Luna took on other significant responsibilities at Banco Popular, including being CEO of Popular Private Banking and General Director of the Deposits Bank.

Miguel Ángel Luna highlights that Valls’ personality was one of great restraint, even though there were often tense situations within the bank, such as the closure of the Madrid newspaper or the conflict with Ruiz-Mateos.

Regarding the bank’s business, Luna emphasizes that, in his experience, the key was how Valls cared for and understood the employees, the “internal client,” which was the essence of Banco Popular.

Transparency was another fundamental characteristic of his conduct. Valls always insisted to his teams, and Luna is a witness to this, that they should never do anything that couldn’t be known or published, not so much because of any possible repercussions, but because things had to be done properly.

“His life was service,” summarizes Luna, explaining who Valls was. The act of “giving without expecting” meant everything to him. Luna asserts that there were no pretenses and that Luis Valls “was like that.”