Founded in 2012. The wholesale bank, under the leadership of Ainhoa Jáuregui since last year, has nearly 300 billion in assets from investment funds, pensions and venture capital, and holds custody of more than 400 billion in assets.
In 2012, after the savings banks separated their financial business from their social work and foundation, the Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA) decided to follow the same path. It separated the institutional representation and defence of the interests of the affiliated entities from the wholesale banking business. Thus, in November 2012, Cecabank was born.
Despite the separation, the interrelationship between the two entities was maintained and the majority of the teams were shared. At the head of CECA was José María Méndez, who was director and later CEO of Cecabank. In 2025, with Méndez's departure, it was decided to separate both the management and the teams of both entities, as it was thought this step would bring more value. It was then that Ainhoa Jáuregui, after 30 years at the company focused on monitoring the bank's strategy, was appointed CEO of Cecabank.
This wholesale bank, which provides financial and non-financial services, has three lines of business: Securities Services, Payments and Treasury Management.
Flagship
Cecabank's flagship business is its Securities Services. The bank is the main independent depositary in the Iberian market. Cecabank holds approximately 300 billion euros in assets from investment, pension and venture capital funds. Furthermore, it is the custodian of more than 400 billion euros in fixed income and equity assets.
The depository and custodianship "is an activity that we have been carrying out for many years, but with significant growth since 2012”, says Jáuregui. They also operate in Portugal, where they opened a branch in 2018, and, since last year, in Luxembourg, "because it is the European hub of the asset management industry." The goal is to attract Spanish asset managers who register their funds in Luxembourg, “but we are generating interest outside of Spain as well. The first asset managers we are attracting are independent, but we are also talking with some from banking groups", the CEO reveals.
At the start of January, the first client in Luxembourg, the asset manager Buy & Hold, migrated, and there are already others waiting to complete the necessary procedures. “We believe that this year we will see significant growth. With Buy & Hold, we are also going to start working in Spain", Jáuregui acknowledges.
Securities Services has also developed ancillary services that provide added value to the main services. They have an equity execution desk and give clients access to different exchanges, both for derivatives and securities.
In Payments, they assist their clients who are not members of the Spanish and European clearing houses to settle their payments. Jáuregui points out that "payment clearing, whether through traditional clearing houses, cards or immediate payments, such as Bizum, would not have seen the development it has undergone today without technology", which she considers fundamental. They also have platforms to support entities in e-commerce.
Finally, in Treasury Management, Cecabank is responsible for making its clients' own resources profitable within a prudent risk framework. It also offers services such as foreign exchange brokerage, fixed income and equities. Furthermore, since its approval last year, it connects asset managers with large national and international counterparties so that they can lend their securities portfolios in exchange for a return that increases the performance for their participants.
According to the board, “the future will inevitably revolve around digital assets.” The entity obtained authorisation from the CNMV in July to be a custodian of digital assets and is finalising the developments in order to begin this activity. “We already have a couple of clients signed up.”
