It is an alliance of 30 Cooperative Banks and their undertakings (Banco Cooperativo Español, S.A., RGA and RSI) which together make up the only banking group in Spain to follow in the footsteps of the continent's leading groups, such as the BVR Group in Germany, Crédit Agricole in France and the RZB Group in Austria.

It is the only institutional protection scheme under Article 113.7 of Regulation 575/2013 (CRR) recognized by the Spanish regulatory authorities. This has been the case since March 23^th  2018, when its structure was granted regulatory recognition, an acknowledgement of the fact that it was operating de facto as an IPS, while still retaining the hallmarks of its identity, including respect for the independence of all members in their the decision-making process, rather than merely theoretical independence subordinate to a head company.

It is a group whose size compares favourably with that of any major Spanish banking group, but which also offers an additional level of security (the only one of its kind in Spain): an ex ante solidarity fund, with separate assets and its own legal personality, designed to help members in the event of their requiring financial strengthening and to guarantee their stability. And all this without the need to consolidate their balance sheets or mutualizing their profits.