The Italian bank Mediolanum landed in Spain in 2000 with the purchase of Fibanc – an entity founded by businessman Carles Tusquets – with the idea of replicating its model in the transalpine country, in operation since 1982. At the beginning of the new century, Spanish entities were struggling to expand their network of offices to reach every corner of the country: having branches was synonymous with success. Mediolanum, on the other hand, had for years been betting on a different system that revolved around the figure of what is called a family banker, financial advisors who offer to visit the client at their home and with whom they maintain constant contact. And far from the more traditional business of banks – where a good part of the clients have their immobile assets in bank accounts – these advisors move money and place it in investment funds, pension plans, or life insurance, among others.

In 25 years, the financial landscape has changed dramatically: from extensive branch networks to digital banking and the decline of physical branches, which has led public administrations, such as the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Barcelona Provincial Council, to launch mobile banking service concessions. From 2010 to the present day, two-thirds of bank branches have disappeared. In fact, there are now the same number as there were in 1970. And more than 100,000 jobs have been lost in the sector. When Fibanc, the institution founded in 1983 by financier Carles Tusquets, was born, competition among banks was about who had the most branches, the exact opposite of today. And, at the end of 2000, long before the financial crisis that devastated a portion of the financial system, Tusquets opted to merge with the Italian bank Mediolanum. It was a newly established entity, founded some four years earlier in 1997, family-owned and managed by Ennio Doris – today his son Massimo is the CEO of the parent company and his sister Sara is the vice president and also of the subsidiary in Spain.