He served as chairman of Banesto from November 1987 to December 1993, when he was dismissed and the firm intervened by the Bank of Spain, in what would become the first major interference of a government in a financial institution.

[2] Son of a customs inspector, he was noted for his studying and hard-working capabilities, which led him to obtain the highest distinction of his year's Law promotion at the University of Deusto.

[4] After working for two years in the Ministry of Finance, Conde met Juan Abelló who, convinced of his talent, offered him a place as board member at his family's laboratory.

[5] In March 1987, Conde and Abelló took part in what became the most ambitious transaction in the history of private business in Spain at the time, the sale of 100% of the shares of Antibióticos S.A. to Montedison for US$450 million (approximately US$1 billion today).

[6] The exceptionally wealthy Conde and his partner Abelló, who had amassed a fortune following the deal with Montedison, bought a significant amount of shares of Banesto, one of the largest banks in Spain, so to become members of the management board.

Luis Carlos Croissier, the President of the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, the financial regulator of the national securities markets, decided to impose a trading halt on Banesto, and Luis Ángel Rojo, the Governor of the Bank of Spain, communicated the intervention of the banking entity, tasking Alfredo Sáenz Abad with chairing the board of directors of Banesto in a temporary basis.

[15] First destined in Toledo, and later at the Ministry of Finance in Madrid, he left the public administration on voluntary leave in 1976, starting then a career in the private sector.

He paid a visit to prison (February 1998 – August 99) fulfilling part of the 4-year and a half sentence that the justice delivered vis-à-vis the "Argentia Trust" case.

have defended him, saying that his arrest, charges, imprisonment and overall downfall were staged by several powerful figures, including former prime ministers Felipe Gonzalez and José María Aznar.