This study examines whether the transition from a system of multiple issuing banks to a monopoly on currency issuance was a step in the Bank of Spain’s becoming a central bank in the true sense of the word (a non-profit-maximizing institution); or on the contrary, whether the Bank used its...

This paper explores why Spanish banks internationalise and why Latin America has been the main region for the international expansion of BBVA and Santander. It shows that prior to 1986 Spanish banks had a limited presence abroad, and analyses the main drivers of this initial expansion...

The year 1898 was the year of the disaster. In two naval battles - one in the Caribbean and the other in the Pacific - the Spanish fleet was destroyed and Spain lost its remaining colonies: Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The defeat, which brought an end to the nation’s imperial status,...