Isidro Fainé, academician of the Real Academia de Ciencias Económicas y Financieras of Spain (RACEF), was distinguished by Fomento del Trabajo (Spanish employer's association) as Businessman of the Year awarding him the Medal of Honour in recognition of his key role in the process of restructuring the savings bank sector and for being responsible for the reorganisation of the la Caixa group and the birth of CaixaBank, the third in ranking of Spanish banks.

The model has been followed by other institutions in order to be able to face up to the process of transformation required by the new regulating framework for Spanish financial institutions as it has been able to maintain the identity of the entity amongst which the Benefit Society stands out.