This is a CTP of initiative: FEBEA/Fiare (Spain)
The interviewee has identified as one of the critical moments in the history of FIARE the celebration of its First National Meeting, which took place between the 28th and 29th April 2012 in the city of Rivas Vaciamadrid (Madrid). Such assembly brought together 308 people, of which 266 were members and represented 10% of the social basis. The main milestone of this meeting was the approval of the integration process of Fiare and Banca Popolare Etica (BpE); the Italian credit union.
At said meeting, Fiare partners had the opportunity to become more aware of the diagnosis and feasibility of the integration between Banca Popolare Etica and Fiare, as well as the necessary process for the establishment of an Italian-Spanish ethical banking cooperative.
I believe that we were around 300 people but we represented a few more, because there were some delegations of vote... this turning point meant embracing a different dynamic, from that moment on . Until then, the Fiare project was settling, with more or less difficulties ... but from that moment on we realized that the step was definitive, far-reaching ... we stopped being agents ... we were going to work side by side for the creation of a cooperative, of a financial entity that would operate in two different countries with some similarities ... the change of structures involved... that was the first time we heard about how the groups were organized, about the GIT, the zones, the areas...
It should be noted that up to that moment, Fiare was a cooperative bank project but did not have yet the economic or organizational capacity to operate autonomously in Spain, given the legal requirements established by the Bank of Spain (which had hardened after the 2008 financial crisis). Since 2005 Fiare had been operating in the Spanish territory as an agent of the Italian cooperative Banca Popolare Etica, but it was regulated by the Italian legislation.
Through the agreement endorsed at the Vaciamadrid 2012 meeting, Fiare and BPE will become an European cooperative and Fiare will be allowed to open a bank office in Spain, to operate throughout the territory via the internet, to offer regular banking products and to become a real alternative to the traditional banking, with a greater capacity for social transformation. The assembly also provided work spaces where all the participants shared, discussed and made progress on a number of strategic issues for the entity, including the creation of working groups in which they continued working through the territorial and sectoral networks for the following months.
At this moment, in 2012, when we decided to become part of Banca Popolare Etica, an integration path with no turning back begins. I think it was clear for both parties at that moment, for those who joined the assembly, not only for the people from the Spanish territory but also for those from the Italian side, coming from Banca Popolare Etica. We saw each other's faces, We recognized each other, and that mutual knowledge...and the same language... I mean in terms of ethical finances because ... what we talked was a very strange mixture between Italian and Spanish ... In my view that assembly was crucial to know each other, to decide that we wanted to do something and that it was since 10 years before that we have been thinking that things could be done differently. At that time I think it was the final step for the creation of the European credit union that we are now
The turning point of the Fiare national assembly in 2012 and the approval of the integration of both financial entities - Fiare and Banca Popolare Etica (BPE) - is preceded by an intense work over almost 10 years by the cooperative driving group. At the time of the CTP, Fiare had a social basis of 2,879 members who contributed to the project 3.2 million Euros of share capital. Also, the integration of both institutions was possible thanks to the cooperation since 2005 and the establishment of trust ties between those responsible for Fiare and BPE.
The interviewee highlights the fundamental role played by two specific people, Peru Sasia, leader of Fiare and Ugo Biggeri, president of BPE, who managed to convince the partners from both territories that the common project was possible, conveying enthusiasm and confidence in a new project of international scope that could have been taken as an unwanted risk instead:
I would highlight Ugo Biggeri and Peru Sasia among the key people within the project... The close connection between them also at the intellectual level, right? I think they connected quite a bit to what we wanted to do.... They bolstered the idea little by little ... They encouraged ... They contrasted things in both territories ... and I think that influenced a lot, too ... They passed it to the rest of the territories, They travelled a lot ... I remember Peru came here to Galicia several times, as he did in many other places too. Everything to explain us what the dream was, how that dream was transforming or changing itself ... and well, he made us believe this, we believed him...
Secondly, the role of Fiare's partners and volunteers was paramount, together with members from some institutions in the third sector, from the social and solidarity economy, which committed to Fiare by dedicating their own economic and human resources. The interviewee points out that without the commitment of the social basis of Fiare, of the coordinators of the local Groups, the project would not be possible, because Fiare hardly had, at that moment hired personnel. This has meant that the consolidation process of the project lasted longer than initially expected and that at the time of the 2012 meeting, the goals that Fiare has established had not been fulfilled:
We really have very few workers in Fiare. This has all been done on a volunteer basis that I value a lot within the project. It's the main pull. Those volunteering here, who have been working here for years, we are not workers. We are contributing as much as we can, and to start up such banking operations and meeting the deadlines we had proposed, we would have needed more personnel. The lack of staff has been very important. That they are...each and every one of them are great because they have all put a lot more effort than anyone would never ask them to put into this and have had to work wonders to get through the huge amount of work this has taken, but in to reach that cruising speed that we all want, we would have needed more support
The temporal and territorial context where the event is located also influences the CPT co-production. Thus, the assembly comes four years after the financial crisis that affected seriously the small banking entities of Spain, involving in many cases their disappearance (or takeover by larger entities). This crisis created new barriers for Fiare (economic and structural, in order to guarantee the stability and solvency of the banking system), which had to adapt to the circumstances and seek alternatives to the inability to be established as a credit cooperative. As a consequence, Fiare integrated with Banca Popolare Etica
There have been many difficulties regarding the banking operation, for setting up an operation of this significance within the European context, having to work with the Italian Central Bank ... and with the Bank of Spain behind. These are issues that ultimately slowed us down a lot
The interviewee mentions a series of previous moments that are directly related to the celebration of the assembly and that are also turning points in the history of Fiare. In the first place, she refers to the birth of Fiare, in 2001.
Fiare was born in 2001, in Euskadi and Navarra: the association to which I belong, Proclade, had already been involved in its birth. That was generated by such a heterogeneous group of people, including church people. And in fact the first meetings had been held in Proclade, in Navarra and in Bilbao. That moment was the first time I heard about ethical banking. When we started everything seemed easy:- "Do we need 5 million Euros? That's...nothing...-The Athletic de Bilbao football team has much more, so we can collect that amount in two days. Then this was not an easy road, dealing with all the singularities in each territory, the association of organizations in each territory...not everywhere is that easy to find the "cooperativist gene" Basques have. There were logically many differences, man! And sometimes I get angry that we always compare us with the Basques ... Here the level of associationism, cooperation, cooperativism and all that is much weaker, logically...the territory also influences us a lot...then all those things. And we realized the difficulties were quite large. The difficulties were great. That is, although we are taking steps, we now always take very safe steps
The interviewee also mentioned the establishment in 2009 of the local group in which she is involved, Fiare Galicia, which corresponds to a process of substantial increase of the social basis of Fiare throughout the Spanish territory . The initiative previously rooted in the Basque country, expands to the rest of the state through a bottom-up " process" promoted by either regional or local entities:
By 2009 or 2010, Fiare Galicia began to be promoted in Galicia. Above all it was promoted by an entity called Ais o Peto, which was already devoted to bank financing, microcredit and all that. And then, a series of entities from Galicia, we met, we started talking about the subject, we met and we (Proclade) were one of the entities, of the fourteen entities that launched Fiare in the Galician territory, along with Altermundo, Adega, the Christ Victory parish or with the Galician Farmers Union I remember that in 2008... 2009, Fiare grew a lot because of the joining of many new territories. We got the first million of social capital. We went from having two hundred thousand Euros in 2008 to a million Euros. This was growing very well but slowly
A third event directly related to the turning point (CTP) is the change of structure approved after the Fiare 2012 assembly. Fiare begins then to adopt a territorial structure similar to the one used in Italy by Banca Popolare Etica. Fiare was from that moment on organized in GITs (territorial initiative groups), although it tried to respect the idiosyncrasy of each territory and each group was different. In the process of adaptation the different territorial groups enjoyed considerable autonomy:
The structural changes were also important. Suddenly, we were constituted in 19 territorial districts, and we decided that they were 19 and not 29 or 14 (...) Each territory decided quite independently. And that was also important. Because in the end is...that structure of the 19 circumscriptions, of the three zones ... The northern, Mediterranean, Central-South, at that time these decisions were made, and I think they will not be definitive but rather that they may change over time We copied some things and some did not. For example we do not have for example the "traveling banker". We do not have it here and there is a very important figure. There, the ethical-social evaluation is made by a single person, here we still make commissions integrated by several people. That is, although we are integrated now, we try to adapt from one side and the other, but it is never an exact copy of the model. Because territorial issues were also taken into account
This turning point does not seem to have faced opposition among the social basis of Fiare. The assembly addressed a key issue for the future of the entity: the vote (for the approval or rejection) on the integration of Fiare and Banca Popolare Etica (BpE). In the light of the results of the consultation presented, attendees (who had the delegated votes of associates from all over the country) endorsed the integration process of both projects with 240 votes in favor (out of the 266 people with voting rights) and 1 blank vote.
This consensus seems to be shared also by the social mass from the different territories, although there have been groups or people who questioned the process in the beginning. However, the confidence in the good performance of these leaders explains why there weren't remarkable disagreements in Fiare that could either block the project or change its direction:
If there was opposition I did not perceive it. From what I have the closest, from the Galician people or what I have heard, from other groups ... It is true that there were groups that made more questions, they questioned the process more ... others were more confident ... We trusted more. But that always happens, doesn't? But dissent ... I haven't perceived it at all ... quite the contrary
Nor is it perceived that contestation was silent, that is to say, that the change of course or implications derived from the Fiare National Assembly in 2012 had caused any partner or entity to leave:
No, no one has left the ship. No, at least I am not aware of that... no. We have lost people on our way. We are also talking about some very difficult years for all entities. Above all, I speak of entities, because above all it has been the entities that have borne the weight of Fiare, have not they? You know how these last years have been, of difficulties... some entities have suddenly found themselves with fewer volunteers, or with fewer technical staff. Suddenly they could provide less direct support, but not because they did not believe in their projects but because they did not have the strength for everything. For many entities, logically, Fiare was important, but it was not the most important part of their projects. Then they had to put less flesh on the bones of Fiare to better focus on other things that were more essential to them ... not because they stopped believing, on the contrary. Many said to us: "Look, we are in a very weak moment ..."... And many even disappeared. People who were involved in the beginning have left, but because other difficulties of their own; they did not leave the project because they did not believe in it anymore
Regarding the anticipation of the relevance of the CTP, it seems that the Fiare partners were fully aware of the significance of the decisions taken at the 2012 national assembly for the future of the association. The information published on its social networks and blogs at the same time, explicitly reflected that it was a "historical moment", an expression very repeated during the assembly, as an aspiration demanded by the social base of Fiare and by part of the citizens that had been demanding and promoting the creation of a Spanish credit cooperative that operated under ethical, transparency and equity criteria.
Yes, if I think it is shared. With the people with whom I have more communication ... with the Galician group, we were about 20 people, along with other people that we met there in that meeting. Many times we have said it, do you remember Rivas, remember that time? Do you remember when we said yes to the integration process?
The anticipation capacity of the partners also derives from a previous process (at the end of the meeting) of information and conviction about what was the most appropriate strategy to achieve the objectives that Fiare established at the time of its constitution, which sought to have social impact and transformation capacity over the territory:
There had been a series of extraordinary assemblies, Peru had traveled the territory, we had talked and reflected ... we had our times to let things settle ... to ask questions that then were raised there in assembly ... giving this big step, but yes, when we got there it was the materialization of something that was already brewing ... with many doubts but still, it was the beginning of a road or a change in the road but with many questions that also had no answers ... neither did we give all the answers in Rivas, not at all, because this has been built over the time
We had all made this journey, from 2001 to maybe 2010, which was also a very important moment because the majority of the territory had already joined ... It was not something that was imposed from above. Quite the opposite. The idea began to take shape and it was in that assembly of Rivas when we really faced all that of what we had been talking for a while. I think it was there. That's why I consider it a very important turning point.
The interviewee highlights several lessons drawn from the inflection point described. In the first place, a reference is made to a more pragmatic, more instrumental learning, derived from the adoption of a new structure, a new organization (in territorial groups) that it is agreed to adopt within Fiare This implies the introduction of new ways of working and understanding the project, which will ultimately have an international reach:
Now all that new vocabulary has become known to me, but I remember all the notes I took when Ana Fasano explained to us in the assembly how they were organized, and how we looked at ourselves saying, but what is all this? And now it's already part of our structure too
Second, the assembly served to establish bonds of trust between persons, all members of Fiare, but from different territories and who, with few exceptions, did not know each other personally. Emphasis is placed on the importance of creating these spaces of interaction "face to face", between people from very different backgrounds, which is considered fundamental to create a common identity:
Many things happened in that assembly. Many of us gave a face to each other. We had heard about each other but many of us did not know each other personally. Maybe we had heard Peru talked of another person from Navarre, and at that moment, in the assembly, we did face that person from Navarre, Ana ... that is, these meetings are very important because you realize that there is a lot of strength here ... but it is also important to know that this is a project of many people, very different people, and at that moment I believe that it was when we realized, despite how heterogeneous Fiare was, that we all wanted the same
Learning arises, then, in spaces where partners discuss and elaborate proposals in small working groups, where they have the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences with other members of the project, but also with their Italian allies. The interviewee reflects on one of the strong points of the process: the perception - a correct one- that despite the integration of both banks, each one should preserve its own identity, which makes it recognizable in its own territory
It served to realize the difficulties, but at the same time to understand also the number of identities that we shared with Banca Populare Etica, or with Italy ... It is not a matter of losing our own identities ... but I really think it is an issue of wanting to adapt what was projected; to the reality with which we have to work later
Finally, it should be noted that the interviewees point out a mutual learning based on the experiences of the participants in the assembly of both territories. A preconceived idea (at least implicit) is broken that the Italian cooperative started with a certain "superiority" role, derived from many years of banking experience and that would serve as an example for the Spanish project. From the 2012 assembly on, it is shown that a new project was being built, with an European context, which generated many expectations in many people and organizations, even in other nearby countries:
I believe that the Italians also realized that they had been well established for many years and suddenly the appearance of Fiare brought new desires, a renewal, a different spirit within their organization. It also began to see that we were no longer just Fiare in Spain, Banca Popolare Etica, but there was already a "murmur" in France, in Spain, that there were more people also thinking the same
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