Monte de Piedad

Mont de Piété

A mount of piety was an institutional pawnbroker run as a charity in Europe from the later Middle Ages times to the 20th century, more often referred to in English by the relevant local term , such as monte di pietà , mont de piété , or monte de piedad...

 y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera, trading under the name Unicaja, is a financial institution based in Málaga

Málaga

Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 and chartered as a caja de ahorros, similar to what would be called a savings and loan association

Savings and loan association

A savings and loan association , also known as a thrift, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, or a building society

Building society

A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially mortgage lending. These institutions are found in the United Kingdom and several other countries.The term "building society"...

 or trustee savings bank

Trustee Savings Bank

The Trustee Savings Bank was a British financial institution which specialised in accepting savings deposits from the poor. They did not trade their shares on the stock market and, unlike mutually held building societies, depositors had no voting rights nor the ability to direct the financial and...

 in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It operates primarily in the south of Spain.

Unicaja was founded 18 March 1991 with the merger of five similar institutions, each of which contributed its location to the corporate name of the merged entity:

• Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda (founded 1909)
• Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Cádiz (founded 1884)
• Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Almería (founded 1900)
• Caja de Ahorros Provincial de Málaga (founded 1949)
• Caja de Ahorros y Préstamos de Antequera (founded 1904)

The company sponsors several major sports clubs in its region. It is the name sponsor of the ACB basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 club CB Málaga, a frequent participant in the Euroleague

Euroleague

Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

, and of the volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

 club CV Almería

CV Almería

Club Voleibol Almería, also known for sponsorship reasons as Unicaja Almería, is a professional volleyball team based in Almeria, Spain. It plays in the Superliga and in the CEV Champions League.-Honors:...

, and is also a major sponsor, though not name sponsor, of Málaga CF

Málaga CF

Málaga Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Málaga, Andalusia. The team currently plays in Spain's La Liga.Málaga CF is generally seen as the successor to CD Málaga, one of the most historical Andalusian football clubs, by being a near-identical looking football club that even shares...

.