The History of Pignus: seven Decades in Business
Our Association was founded in Milan on September 28, 1957, under the name “International Association of Public Pawnbroking Institutions”. It initially brought together insitutions from several European Countries including Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland.
A History of PIGNUS Governance
Since 1989, PIGNUS has relocated its headquarters and presidency several times. After moving to Madrid under the leadership of the Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid, the headquarters moved to Granada in 2001 under the presidency of Antonio María Claret García (Caja Granada).
In 2010, during the General Assembly in Lima, Antonio Pulido (Cajasol) assumed the presidency and the headquarters moved to Seville, where it remained until 2019.
In 2019, during the Assembly in Rome, Juan Caído (Valorum, Switzerland) was elected President.
Major changes over the years
The Association’s history has been shaped not only by successive changes in its
senior leadership but also by amendments to its bylaws approved over the years.
1992
Opening to private legal entities and change of the institution’s name
1999
Simplification of the organizational structure
2004
Expansion to new forms of credit
2014
Strengthening member representation within Pignus’ governing bodies
Launch and new name
The first significant amendment was adopted by the Extraordinary General Assembly in Mexico City in September 1992, following a proposal by the Standing Committee. This change introduced the current name: International Association of Collateral Loan and Social Credit Institutions.
It also opened membership to private legal entities, provided they engaged in socially oriented lending secured by collateral, with the Permanent Commission responsible for assessing the social nature of such activities.
Amendments to the Articles of Incorporation
At the 17th General Assembly in León (Spain) in October 1999, a major revision simplified the regulatory framework and restructured the organization.
A further amendment, approved in Paris in 2004, broadened the Association’s objectives to include additional forms of social credit, while maintaining pawnbroking as its core activity.
Most recent changes
In October 2014, during the Assembly in Mexico City, the current bylaws were updated with several improvements, an amendment to the statutes was adopted in Mexico City, the most significant change being the optional introduction of the post of Director-General to strengthen the organisation’s service-oriented structure.
Our president
The most recent change in the presidency of PIGNUS took place in March 2025 in Mexico City, coinciding with the 60th General Assembly and the main celebrations commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Nacional Monte de Piedad de México, one of PIGNUS’s historic members and the oldest financial institution in the Americas. On that occasion, Lucas Tinzl, Director of Dorotheum (Austria), Central Europe’s largest auction house, was appointed President.
