 There are two precedents to the formation of the Confederation of Spanish Savings Banks ("Confederación Española de Cajas de Ahorros" or commonly known as CECA), namely regional associations and the Savings Banks Credit Institute

Between 1921 and 1939, most Spanish savings banks remained local institutions but the biggest savings banks started to expand within their province and across adjacent areas.In the course of the first quarter of the century competition had increased for the savings banks from two sources.First, government-owned banks were established.