 The supervision of the savings banks was transferred from the Ministry of Interior to the Bank of Spain.The first episode of regulatory change for the savings banks saw increased regulation, and the overwhelming majority of new savings banks that were established between 1939 and 1977 were set up by local and central governments (with some notable exceptions like the co-operativist Caja Laboral).Francoist Spain continued implementing a practice developed during the 1920s called the principle of territoriality, meaning that the business of each savings bank was restricted to its home province.