Unicaja
Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera after the names of all the merged entities and the mount of piety structure.
It is similar to what would be called a savings and loan association in the United States or a building society or trustee savings bank in the UK and Ireland. It operates primarily in the south of Spain.
Unicaja has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervision in late 2014, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the European Central Bank.
History
Unicaja was founded 18 March 1991 with the merger of five similar institutions, each of which contributed its location to the corporate name of the merged entity:- Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda
- Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Cádiz
- Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Almería
- Caja de Ahorros Provincial de Málaga
- Caja de Ahorros y Préstamos de Antequera
The name "Unicaja" remains a commercial brand of Unicaja Banco, in which the foundation holds a stake of 30.24% as of 31 December 2023.