Creand (formerly Crèdit Andorrà) is a financial group in the

Principality of Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south. Believed to have been crea ...

founded in 1950. The group has a presence in

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(Miami) and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Development

With an international presence, the group provides global

private banking Private banking is a general description for banking, investment and other financial services provided by banks and financial institutions primarily serving high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) – those with very high income or substantial asset ...

asset management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of all value for which a group or entity is responsible. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as complex process or manufacturing plants, infrastr ...

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

ing and

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...

services. In 2022, the group had a turnover in excess of €25 billion. With the introduction of the Creand brand in Andorra as of 2023, the group has completed the process that began in 2020 in international markets. With the new name, the bank is now in Andorra called ''Creand Crèdit Andorrà'', the asset manager is ''Creand Asset Management'', the insurer ''Creand Assegurances Estalvi'' and the foundation is ''Creand Fundació''. The subsidiaries operating in Spain, the United States and Panama are grouped under the name ''Creand Wealth Management''. In Luxembourg, the name of the bank is ''Creand Wealth & Securities''.

Services

Internationally, the group offers private banking and wealth management services, which are managed through an international financial platform that offers global investments and solutions and has a presence in Andorra, Europe and America. It is a service based on an open architecture model, specialised and flexible, with personalised advice as a key principle. In Andorra, ''Creand Crèdit Andorrà'' provides a private banking, commercial banking and asset management. It has incorporated mobile phone payments, a digitised investment service (Merkaat), and business acceleration programmes (Scale Lab Andorra).

History

''Creand Crèdit Andorrà'' was founded in 1950 by a group of entrepreneurs in an

Andorra La Vella Andorra la Vella is the capital and largest city of Andorra. It is located high in the east Pyrenees, between France and Spain. It is also the name of the parishes of Andorra, Andorran parish that surrounds the capital. , the city had a populati ...

that was just starting out in the field of trade and services. The company expanded its services with the creation of the group's financial asset management company in 1990 and with the opening of the insurance branch in 1996. In 2005, Creand Crèdit Andorrà acquired and integrated the Andorran subsidiary of

CaixaBank CaixaBank, S.A. (), formerly Criteria CaixaCorp, is a Spanish multinational financial services company. CaixaBank is based in Valencia, with operative offices in Barcelona and Madrid. It is Spain's third-largest lender by market value, after Ban ...

. The internationalisation of the Group began in 2008. In 2011, the entity acquired 85% of the Spanish Banco Alcalá, a bank specialising in global wealth management for private and institutional clients, with offices in Madrid (Banco Alcalá's headquarters), Barcelona and Valencia. In 2021, 100% of Vall Banc was acquired. In 2023, the management company of the Spanish subsidiary completed the merger by absorbing GBS Finanzas Investcapital A.V., the securities agency of GBS Financio specialising in advising high net worth and family office clients. Since 2020, the group has been promoting the ''Creand Chair of Entrepreneurship and Banking'' at

IESE Business School IESE Business School is the Catholic Church, Catholic graduate business school of the University of Navarra. It was established in Barcelona in 1958 by Opus Dei. From 1963, in collaboration with Harvard Business School, it offers a two-year Maste ...

, which replaces the ''Crèdit Andorrà Chair of Markets, Organisations and Humanism'', which had been in operation since 2006.

Controversies

Crèdit Andorrà has faced controversies related to compliance and its handling of international sanctions. In 2024, the bank faced scrutiny regarding its client base in light of sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, raising concerns about the bank's adherence to international regulations and potential exposure to sanctioned individuals and entities.

Sponsorships

In the field of sports, the group sponsors mainly

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

, but also

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

. Through the ''Creand Supporting'' channel, which is dedicated to sports sponsorship, it shares news about these sports on social networks. In addition, it is also active in the field of sport. With regard to skiing and the snow sector, which are strategic for the Principality of Andorra, it is a shareholder in SETAP 365; it has sponsorship agreements with the Andorran Ski Federation (FAE), and with the ski resorts; it promotes competitive

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

and outstanding athletes, and annually sponsors different ski clubs and sporting events such as the

Alpine skiing World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang (skiing), Serge Lang and the alpine ski team d ...

Finals and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. It also sponsors the Creand Open tennis tournament, and is promoting e-sports in Andorra.

Creand Foundation

It was set up in 1987 with the aim of contributing to the social and cultural development of the Principality of Andorra. As a private foundation, it focuses its efforts on three areas: education and knowledge, social aid, and creation and culture.The ''Creand Fundació'' is a private foundation.

Acknowledgements

In the group of Andorran banks as a whole, since 2002 it has received annual recognition from the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

and the Global Banking and Finance Review as best bank, best digital bank, best CSR and best private bank in Andorra.

References

External links

Official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Credit Andorra Banks of Andorra Banks established in 1950