ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION
History of Patronato Universitario
Since the 1970s, Luis Valls, who served as vice president and later president of Banco Popular for fifty years, engaged in philanthropic work that gradually materialized in the form of various foundations.
As a principle, this altruistic banker had a policy of not publicizing his social actions; as a result, few people know he was behind the foundation known as Patronato Universitario. His idea was to start providing students with soft loans which they could partially redeeming them with good grades. His goal was to reward effort, knowing that, generally, students were not assisted by commercial banks.
To achieve this, a partnership was formalized with the Deposit Bank, and the Academic Excellence Program was created. The program involved providing soft loans to cover tuition fees and, if necessary, accommodation expenses. Fundación Patronato Universitario also rewarded students’ efforts by reducing part of the loan based on good grades, thus shortening the repayment process. However, this assistance was never 100% coverage, as it was important for the borrower to ‘repay’ the loan, at least partially.
What is Patronato Universitario?
This foundation, which is among those known as “from realm of the Beatriz Building“, was established in 1987 by the express wish of Luis Valls. It was his idea to create an entity called Patronato Santillana, it had to change its name when it sought to become a foundation because the Santillana publishing house, owned by the Polanco family, already had a foundation with that name.
For this reason, the name Patronato Universitario was chosen, which perfectly alludes to its main activity: facilitating, through soft financing, the pursuit of university studies (including doctorates, master’s degrees, etc.). This aid was open to all who wished to study and lacked the financial means, as long as the candidate committed to working hard.
To this day, Patronato Universitario continues to provide significant financing activities for students and entities. The students include hundreds of seminarians and priests who come to Spain from Africa and Asia to complete their studies at ecclesiastical universities.
The influence of Luis Valls
It should be noted that although the person who launched this foundation and encouraged its activities was Luis Valls himself (even financially endowing it with his own money), he was never a trustee or president. He ensured its proper functioning and and growth by encouraging the generosity of his friends. However, he always remained in the background.
The centenary of his birth, which will take place in 2026, is an opportunity to review the legacy left by a person whose main goals were aiding included helping and promoting education. Thousands of students have completed and extended their higher education thanks to the Fundación Patronato Universitario.
