ABSTRACT
Mergers and acquisitions in Spanish banking cover a period of 150 years. They began in 1847, when the Banco de San Fernando, which had been founded in 1829 as a new official bank, successor of the Banco de San Carlos, absorbed the Banco de Isabel II. The Banco de Isabel II was a private bank created in Madrid in 1844, whose main aims were to finance industry and trade, especially railway projects. After almost four years of confrontation the two banks merged under the name of Nuevo Banco Espanol de San Fernando. In 1856 this bank was renamed Banco de Espana (Bank of Spain) under a Banking Act approved by the Spanish Parliament.
