HUMANIST
The person as the most important factor
It is interesting to hear what political and financial analysts say about how Luis Valls and his way of governing Banco Popular with and his style of banking. Still, no one can describe it better than the person who experienced first-hand everything that this manner of being and working implied and the obsession Valls had with placing the individual at the center of everything.
José María Rotellar, who was an executive at the bank (as well as enjoying the benefits of being a client), recently commented in a newspaper1 on why Banco Popular was a bank unlike any other, one that always maintained a distinctive style among financial institutions. (The following text is taken verbatim from that article)
Going the Extra Mile for the Customer
“It was a bank which focused on the customer and was concerned about them because the relationships it established were based on trust, friendship, and personalized service for each and every one of its depositors and borrowers. Indeed, this is the experience I had as a client for almost twenty years and also as an executive of the institution during my time there.
It was always said that Banco Popular provided its clients a ‘bespoke service’ instead of the ‘off-the-rack’ service offered by most banks. That’s why it was the undisputed leader among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and self-employed individuals; none of the significant institutions could compete in this area because Banco Popular, independently of the figures, which it worked out meticulously, treated clients as individual persons, with different needs and different solutions for each of them. In fact, all the big banks coveted its portfolio of SMEs and self-employed individuals.
Pampering the Employees
Popular took great care of its employees. Perhaps the financial compensation was somewhat below that of the sector, but it was more than compensated for by other social benefits. Employees were treated as people, and unless one was caught stealing, they were guaranteed retirement at the bank, because it was a family that took care of its workers.
It never carried out a collective dismissal (ERE), which was unusual in the sector. This only happened at the end, when the market forced it to do so to avoid penalties. Even then, it was the most humane ERE imaginable in banking.”
Bibliography
(1) In Defense of Banco Popular an article written by José María Rotellar in the opinion section of OK Diario and published on March 15, 2024.
