Bankinter was founded under the name Banco Intercontinental Español in June 1965 as an industrial bank through a joint venture by Banco de Santander and BankAmerica. In 1972 the bank became fully independent of its founders and transformed itself into a commercial bank.
In 1993, the bank embarked up on a growth strategy with Banca Partnet and Red Agencial. In the same year, it became the first digital bank, following the successful introduction of electronic banking. In 2006, the brand was transformed.[vague]
In 2009, Bankinter purchased 50% of the insurance company Direct Line from The Royal Bank of Scotland.
In September 2015, Bankinter announced the acquisition of Barclays' retail business in Portugal, consisting of 84 offices, and Barclays Life and Pensions, the latter in a joint-venture with Mapfre. The bank paid approximately €100 million for Barclays' Portuguese subsidiary and €37.5 million for the 50% stake in the insurance company.
In May 2019, Bankinter acquired EVO Banco, incorporating its 452,000 clients.[4]
Bankinter trades as Avant Money, which began as MBNA Ireland,[5] in the Republic of Ireland.[6]
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