 The second episode of regulatory change for the savings banks dates to the last stage of Francoist Spain, when attempts were made to ease the regulatory burden on Spanish savings banks (particularly in 1962 and 1964).Nonetheless, until 1974 the savings banks remained outside the Spanish clearinghouse system and had access to only a restricted business portfolio.However, under the Fuentes Quintana Reform (1977) the competitive environments for savings and private banks started to converge.