Barcelona, September 8th, 2003. - €FPA €spaña, the Spanish branch of the €uropean Financial Planning Association, has signed three major Spanish financial services institutions as corporate members. Santander Central Hispano (SCH), the biggest Spanish bank, Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (BBVA), the second largest banking group in Spain, and Bankinter Spain’s fourth largest bank, signed agreements with representatives of the three banks and the president of €FPA €spaña, Mr. D. Carlos Tusquets Trías de Bes.

Elaborating on the recent statements of the President of CNMV, D. Blas Calzada, in which he expressed his interest in establishing commercial networks of financial organizations tied to advise providers and investors; these three leading Spanish banks have committed to €FPA €spaña in the interest of driving forward quality in the advising sectors. Their commitments require them to build a team of advising consultants within the respective commercial and private banking networks and educate as many persons as possible to qualify / certify at the €uropean Financial Adviser (€FA) level.

The main objective of €FPA are as follows: to advance the standing of financial planning and financial advising practitioners in the eyes of all stakeholders in the financial services sector, especially consumers; to assure identical educational, examination and ethics standards and levels of professionalism across Europe; to ensure financial services providers and consumers in the financial services sector have a guarantee of quality implied by €FPA Certification and; to ensure ethical behaviour by €FPA members in all instances acting with, and on the behalf of, clients.

Mr. D. Antonio Peñalver Martinez, Director of Formation and Development signed the agreement on behalf of Santander Central Hispano, while D. Luis Sanchez Navarrete, Deputy General Director signed the agreement on behalf of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria while D. Jaime Echegoyen Enriquez, Deputy Director General, signed on behalf of Bankinter.

For its part, €FPA €spaña will collaborate with both organizations to facilitate and simplify the certification process and to provide guidance respecting the design and execution of in house programs.

About €FPA
The €uropean Financial Planning Association (€FPA), created in 2000, is the €uropean association that unites practitioners in the fields of financial advising and financial planning. It is an initiative of self-regulation that was developed in concert by its member countries, currently: Spain, Germany, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, The United Kingdom and Sweden. France, Portugal and Belgium are expected to join as full members shortly.

€FPA, certifies financial consulting practitioners on two levels: €FA (€uropean Financial Adviser) and €FP (€uropean Financial Planner)