For many decades, the global oil industry was dominated by a group of oil companies known as "the Seven Sisters," a number that was echoed in a fractal pattern within the Spanish banking sector, where the oligopoly controlling it consisted of seven banks, the so-called "Big Seven." Aside from this informal lobby, in 1977 the banking sector founded an employers' association called the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), which during its first period (1977-1990) was chaired by a Catalan from the Garraf region: Rafael Termes Carreró. Termes's presence in the banking association was explained by his role at Banco Popular, where he had served as CEO since 1966.