Fundación Torreón de Lozoya

The Fundación Torreón de Lozoya is a Spanish foundation based in Segovia, whose origins trace back to the Monte de Piedad de San Francisco, founded in Cuéllar on 24 April 1636 by Agustín Daza, a canon of Segovia Cathedral and secretary to King Philip IV. On 16 December 1876, the Junta Provincial de Beneficencia de Segovia approved the first statutes of the Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Segovia, which began operations on 25 July 1877 with funds from donations and the sale of shares. The institution combined a charitable pawnshop (Monte de Piedad) with a savings bank (Caja de Ahorros). Over time, the savings bank grew dominant, and in 1943 the entity was renamed Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Segovia. By 1981 it held 28,981,469,000 pesetas in deposits, representing 49.9% of provincial savings, and by 2008 client deposits reached €4,310,518,000. Following the restructuring of the Spanish savings bank sector from 2010, Caja Segovia joined the Sistema Institucional de Protección (SIP) Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA), led by Caja Madrid, alongside Bancaja, La Caja de Canarias, Caja de Ávila, Caixa Laietana and Caja Rioja. This "cold fusion" was constituted on 3 December 2010 and began operating on 1 January 2011. BFA transferred its business to its subsidiary Bankia, creating Spain's third-largest financial group. Due to state intervention in BFA, the seven founding savings banks lost their stake. On 4 December 2012, the Boletín Oficial de Castilla y León published the resolution appointing the Comisión Gestora of the special foundation resulting from the transformation of Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Segovia. On 17 May 2013, the Junta de Castilla y León authorized the statutes of the Fundación Caja Segovia, continuing the social work of Caja Segovia's Obra Social. In March 2014, the foundation's patronato (board of trustees) was constituted with 15 members, and Francisco Javier Reguera García was elected president. In 2022, the Fundación Caja Segovia was renamed Fundación Torreón de Lozoya, after a property owned by the entity, in an effort to distance the foundation's identity from the banking world, although it retained the name Caja Segovia for its exhibition hall on the Bajada del Carmen. The foundation is a private, non-profit entity dedicated to social, cultural and charitable activities in Segovia and its province. It is not a bank and does not offer financial services; its legacy is the social and cultural work formerly carried out by Caja Segovia's Obra Social.

The historical origin of the Fundación Torreón de Lozoya lies in the Monte de Piedad de San Francisco, founded in Cuéllar on 24 April 1636 by Agustín Daza, canon of Segovia Cathedral and secretary to Philip IV. The reconversion of the remnants of this entity was initiated by the Junta Provincial de Beneficencia de Segovia (1840–1940) on 16 December 1876, when its first statutes were approved by Royal Order. It began operations on 25 July 1877 with money from donations and the sale of shares. The Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Segovia was a charitable and benevolent institution of a private legal nature. Initial share capital raised through the sale of shares and donations was 12,871.7 pesetas (about 77 euros). The fundamental purpose, as the order of terms in the name indicated, was that of a Monte de Piedad (pawnshop), dedicated to lending money against the pledge of clothing and other objects. The Caja de Ahorros section attracted depositors' funds to finance the liquidity needs of the Monte de Piedad. However, over time it became evident that deposits exceeded those required to fund the pawnshop's lending and loan activities. In 1883, the Caja de Ahorros already captured 104,685.53 pesetas (629.17 euros), and the excess treasury remained unproductive, even after paying interest to depositors. That year, a modification of statutes was requested so that deposit money could be allocated to productive activities and not exclusively to financing the Monte de Piedad. The reform of statutes was approved in 1891 and allowed the Caja de Ahorros activity to dominate as the Monte de Piedad declined. In 1943, recognizing this fact, the entity became the "Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Segovia". In 1945, the Caja de Ahorros captured 1,853,425.78 pesetas (11,139.31 euros) in external resources. In 1981, the amount had risen to 28,981,469,000 pesetas (174,182,137 euros), 49.9% of provincial savings. In 2008, client deposits amounted to 4,310,518,000 euros. In 2008, the Partido Popular, PSOE, Comisiones Obreras and the regional employers' association CECALE agreed on a protocol of integration among the savings banks of the autonomous community. This protocol envisaged the creation of a management company that would operate under the brand Grupo Cajas de Castilla y León. This company would have a board of directors formed by all entities, with representation proportional to assets. The board would be responsible for controlling the solvency and liquidity of the savings banks and could issue participating quotas. Relevant industrial holdings of the member entities would also be transferred to the company. Retail business would be excluded, so that each savings bank would keep its branch networks, staff, distribution of social work and head offices. However, this decision was rejected by almost all the savings banks involved in February 2009, including Caja Segovia. Caja Segovia negotiated its integration into the merger between Caja Duero and Caja España as well as into the Sistema Institucional de Protección (SIP) Banca Cívica, failing in both projects. Finally, Caja Segovia integrated into the SIP Banco Financiero y de Ahorros, led by Caja Madrid, together with Bancaja, La Caja de Canarias, Caja de Ávila, Caixa Laietana and Caja Rioja. This operation, known as a cold fusion, was controlled by Caja Madrid. It held 340,000 million euros in assets and received FROB aid close to 4,500 million. The Banco Financiero y de Ahorros in turn transferred its business to its subsidiary Bankia, thus creating the third-largest financial group in Spain. It was constituted on 3 December 2010 and began operating on 1 January 2011. Due to the intervention of the Banco Financiero y de Ahorros by the State, the seven founding savings banks lost their stake in it. On 4 December 2012, the Boletín Oficial de Castilla y León published the resolution appointing the Comisión Gestora of the special foundation resulting from the transformation of the Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Segovia. On 17 May 2013, the Junta de Castilla y León authorized the statutes of the Fundación Caja Segovia, continuing the social work that the Obra Social of Caja Segovia had developed for years. It was not until March 2014 that the constitutive session of its patronato was held, a body made up of 15 members that would administer and represent the entity, replacing the Comisión Gestora designated by the Junta de Castilla y León to assume its functions a year and three months earlier. It was constituted as an ordinary foundation and Francisco Javier Reguera García was elected as its president. In 2022, the Fundación Caja Segovia changed its name to Fundación Torreón de Lozoya, referring to this property owned by the entity, in an attempt to distance the banking world from the foundation's identity, although it kept the name of its hall on the Bajada del Carmen, Caja Segovia.

• 2022

  Fundación Caja Segovia renamed Fundación Torreón de Lozoya.

• 2014

  Patronato constituted in March; Francisco Javier Reguera García elected president.

• 2013

  Statutes of the Fundación Caja Segovia authorized by the Junta de Castilla y León on 17 May.

• 2012

  Resolution appointing the Comisión Gestora of the special foundation published on 4 December.

• 2011

  BFA begins operating on 1 January; business transferred to Bankia.

• 2010

  Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA) constituted on 3 December; Caja Segovia joins the SIP.

• 2008

  Client deposits reach €4,310,518,000.

• 1943

  Entity renamed Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Segovia.

• 1891

  Reform of statutes approved, allowing savings bank activity to dominate.

• 1877

  Operations begin on 25 July.

• 1876

  First statutes of the Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Segovia approved by Royal Order on 16 December.

• 1636

  Founding of the Monte de Piedad de San Francisco in Cuéllar by Agustín Daza.

Non-profit foundation continuing the social and cultural legacy of the former Caja Segovia savings bank.

1. 1Fundación Torreón de Lozoya - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Fundación Torreón de Lozoya - Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org