Las grandes fortunas se lanzan a invertir en bancos y firmas de inversión

Spanish billionaires are increasingly investing in banks, private banking firms, and fund managers due to the sector's growth over recent years. This trend has seen wealthy families and entrepreneurs take direct stakes in the capital of banks, private banking firms, and fund managers, driven by the sector's expanding business opportunities.

In the past few months, there has been an acceleration in such transactions, with prominent private banking and asset management firms incorporating billionaires into their shareholder groups. Unlike large, publicly traded banks whose capital is primarily held by institutional investors, Spanish family fortunes prefer to acquire shares in unlisted financial entities.

Among the traditional large banks, some exceptions exist such as Unicaja, where the Mayoral family and commercial center developer Tom�s Olivo hold significant shares, and Bankinter, which has historically welcomed families like the Masaveu. However, the independent entities outside of the stock exchange have seen greater involvement from large patrimonies as shareholders.

Notable examples include Singular Bank, A&G Private Banking, MyInvestor, and Arcano, which have welcomed entrepreneurs and family offices into their capital over the past years, making some of the country's largest fortunes shareholders in financial entities. The most recent example is Singular Bank's recent move, where it began a new phase following the departure of the US private equity firm Warburg Pincus and the anchoring of ING with a 40% stake.

The entity is now led by a diverse group of investors, including a Mexican bank, a Spanish risk capital manager, and several family offices who are also its clients.

Spanish billionaires have collectively taken control of around 21.5% of Singular Bank, including the families Ruiz Lafita, Comenge, and Bhavnani, with the Bombay Investment Office being the largest among them, with a fortune of approximately 250 million euros managed by Singular Bank. A few months prior to Singular Bank's sale, another private banking firm, A&G, underwent a significant shareholder restructuring, attracting institutional investors and prominent Spanish and Latin American billionaires.

Notable new partners include the Garc�a Peralta family, co-owner of Amancio Ortega's Tempe, and tennis star Rafael Nadal, through his family office. Other strategic partners, such as the Riberas family controlling industrial giants Gestamp and Gonvarri, and the Chilean-origin Ler�a Luksic family, have also increased their stakes in the banking entity.

Several Latin American families, including the Mexican Motta, Losada, and Junco de la Vega, have also joined the shareholder group. MyInvestor is another example of the growing influence of large fortunes in financial entities, systematically utilizing capital from entrepreneurs and wealthy families to fuel its growth. The bank has been backed by AXA, El Corte Ingl�s, several Spanish family offices, and notable entrepreneurs like Xavier Pladellorens, David Ruiz de Andr�s, Gerard Oliv�, Carlos Rivera, Julio Ribes, and Juan Desmonts.