Banesto is a Spanish bank, 88.4% owned by Banco Santander. Currently Banesto is the fifth-largest banking group in Spain, operating around 1,770 branch

Branch (banking)

A branch, banking center or financial center is a retail location where a bank, credit union, or other financial institution offers a wide array of face-to-face and automated services to its customers....

es.

Outside of Spain, it is remembered as the sponsor of a cycling team

Cycling team

A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races whether recreational or professional - and the supporting personnel...

 that featured Miguel Indurain

Miguel Indurain

Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He won five consecutive Tour de Frances from 1991 and 1995, the first to do so, and the fourth athlete to win five times. He won the Giro d'Italia twice, becoming one of only seven people in history to achieve the Giro Tour...

, the first rider to win five consecutive Tours de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

. Today's Caisse d'Epargne team is the direct descendant of this team.

History

Banesto acquired Banco del Pacifico in 1991 and renamed it. In 1993 it bought Banco de Concepcion, but the merger was suspended when Banco de España suspended Banesto. When Banco Santander acquired Banesto, Santander sold Banesto Uruguay, Chile, and Banco Shaw in Argentina. In 1994, Banco Santander sold Banesto Chile to Banco Hipotecario de Fomento de Chile (BHIF). In 1998 BBVA bought BHIF.

Ana Patricia Botín

Ana Patricia Botín

Ana Patricia Botín-Sanz de Sautuola O'Shea, born in 1960 in Santander, is a Spanish businesswoman. Since December 2010 she has served as CEO of Santander UK, the British banking subsidiary of the Santander Group. Botín was previously executive chairman of the Spanish bank, Banco Español de Crédito,...

, daughter of Santander president Emilio Botín

Emilio Botin

Emilio Botín-Sanz de Sautuola y García de los Ríos, 1st Marquis of O'Shea, is a Spanish banker. He is the Executive Chairman of Spain's Grupo Santander...

, served as executive

Executive director

Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...

 chair

Chair (official)

The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...

 of the bank between 2002 and November 2010, when she moved to the position of CEO of Santander UK

Santander UK

Santander UK plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group. Based in the United Kingdom, it operates under the name of Santander. Santander is the third largest bank in the UK in terms of deposits, the second largest in terms of mortgages held, and the fourth largest in terms of...

.

Banesto Golf Tour

Starting in 2009, Banesto sponsored a women's golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

mini-tour with 8 events, all in Spain. The tour in 2010 is scheduled for 7 events.