HUMANIST
Relationship with the press
His contributions to the press
Those who worked alongside Luis Valls in his Presidential Office teamtook on the task of compiling his many contributions to the press over the years. It is well-known that Luis Valls enjoyed reading the press, and whenever an editor requested, he was happy to write articles for various newspapers. This is how journalist Fernando González-Urbaneja 1 described this sort of hidden vocation – which eventually turned him into a gifted writer of caliber: “He was passionate about journalism; he would have enjoyed the profession. His articles are excellent, full of subtlety, intelligent, and very intentional. That’s why I called him the ‘Florentine of banking’ thirty years ago”
A deliberate decision
This desire to be in the press had a clear reason, as is evident in an interview given to the same journalist thirty years previoulsy: “My first newspaper article dates back three years (1973). It was born on a hot summer evening when the Carrero government was formed: the new Minister of Finance called a meeting with nine bank presidents. The minister presented a long, brilliant, and subtle report on his vision of the overall economic evolution and invited the banks to participate.
I thought that the banks had a lot to lose if their reaction did not come up to expectations. It is a known fact that in any meeting, some do not get the message because they are busy preparing their answers, and others because they do not want to understand what does not align with their desires. With this in mind, that evening, I concluded that the only viable way to communicate with both the present and absent colleagues was to publish an article in the press.
It was what I could do to ensure that the content of the meeting, which was important for everyone, was not silenced. This experience made me understand the hardships every writer faces. You can’t please everyone.”
In spite of this, he continued.
His Best Articles
And this is what in fact happened as evidenced by Miguel Ángel Prieto, the last manager of the Presidential Office of Banco Popular and current general manager of Banco de Depósitos, who collected those journalistic pieces where Luis Valls made significant economic and legal commentaries. This selection of articles illustrates how he expressed them in major newspapers of the time:
The Madrid Newspaper and the Transition:
«El diario Madrid »
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 28/10/1973
«El rey no gobierna»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 16/12/1975
«La carta robada»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 09/11/1976
Independence and a Limited Enthusiasm for Size:
«El reto de un ministro»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 20/09/1973
«El horizonte del nuevo Gobierno»
Luis Valls Taberner
YA. 11/01/1974
«Las familias políticas»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. Abril de 1974
Discurso de inauguración del edificio Beatriz
Luis Valls Taberner
11/12/1975
«¿Quiénes nos gobernaran?»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 10/02/1976
«Flaco servicio al Rey»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 25/04/1976
«La banca también prospera en regímenes democráticos»
Luis Valls Taberner
EL PAÍS. 05/12/1976
«Sobre el comportamiento de la Banca»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 01/06/1980
«Sobre la reforma de la Banca»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 29/07/1980
«Una dedicatoria de los Bancos al Ayuntamiento de Madrid»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 12/11/1980
«Los banqueros españoles caminan hacia la “reserva”»
Luis Valls Taberner
EL PAÍS. 20/02/1981
«¿También la banca?»
Luis Valls Taberner
EL PAÍS. 06/03/1981
«Sobre aspirinas y fusiones»
Luis Valls Taberner
FUTURO EMPRESARIAL. Marzo de 1988
«Hacer banca en Europa»
Luis Valls Taberner
Lecture delivered in the seminar: «Spanish banking in Europe in the 90s. II. Strategies and dimension of the banking company” at the Menéndez Pelayo University of Santander.. July 1988.
«Auge y caída de la banca»
Luis Valls Taberner
EL PAÍS. 09/10/1990
«El Popular es un libro siempre abierto»
Luis Valls Taberner
EL NUEVO LUNES. 18/02/1991
«Banco Popular: dos años de presidencia doble»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 10/06/1991
«De la Banca tranquila a la Banca inquieta»
Luis Valls Taberner
ECONOMÍA Y FINANZAS. Junio de 1993
«Optimistas y pesimistas»
Luis Valls Taberner
DINERO. 20/12/1993
Leadership Model
«Libertad, esa gran señora»
Luis Valls Taberner
DIARIO 16. 27/03/1981
«La calumnia»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 29/01/1986
«Organizo mi vida como si todo el tiempo fuera libre»
Luis Valls Taberner
PANORAMA. 01/02/1988
«Diez sobre diez»
Luis Valls Taberner
TIEMPO. 16/10/1989
«El sello de Luis Valls»
Luis Valls Taberner
FUTURO EMPRESARIAL. Octubre de 1990
«La trayectoria de Pepe»
Luis Valls Taberner
EL MUNDO. 20/01/1992
«Rumasa: la historia llega a su fin»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 20/02/1997
His Management Model:
«¿Sabe usted cómo se comporta?»
Luis Valls Taberner
Ya Dominical. 25/10/1981
«Por qué nos reunimos los banqueros»
Luis Valls Taberner
Expansión. 13/10/1989
Luis and JavierValls Taberner interviewed by Eduardo Ballarín in the Nissan Chair of IESE.
Universidad de Navarra. 26/04/1993
A Constant Obsession with Service and Quality
«El pensamiento cautivo»
Luis Valls Taberner
DINERO. 1981
«Mercaderes de dinero»
Luis Valls Taberner
ANUARIO EL PAÍS. 1986
«La doble presidencia representa un logro organizativo que suma eficacia a la gestión»
Luis Valls Taberner
ABC. 01/05/1989
«La organización será decisiva»
Luis Valls Taberner
Expansión. 29/05/1990
«La cultura del “cómo” en la banca actual»
Luis Valls Taberner
CINCO DÍAS. 31/03/1993
On a Personal Note
Besides his writings on topics where he left his mark as an expert in financial economics and politics, Luis Valls also dedicated press tributes to significant individuals he had known during their lives and whose deaths he wanted to honor.
Some of his best obituaries published in the press are dedicated to great bankers like Pablo Garnica, president of Banesto, and Emilio Botín, Sr. Valls also praised figures like Aguirre Gonzalo, Pedro Toledo, and Mariano Rubio on their passing away.
Bibliography
(1) Article-Obituary: “Luis Valls Taberner, Banker by Profession at Banco Popular” by Fernando González-Urbaneja, Spanish journalist and economic analyst (ABC 26/02/2006)
(2) Interview with Fernando González Urbaneja of El País (5 Dec 1976)
