It is said that politics makes strange bedfellows. However, last week when the sector of the Valencian branch of the Partido Popular still controlled by Eduardo Zaplana (third photo) and the socialist PSV-PSOE party announced that they had reached an agreement over the line-up for the board of directors of the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo (CAM) savings bank, it seemed as though the fragile unity of the regional party had been blown apart. The official sector of the party, that is to say the one controlled by regional and party president, Francisco Camps (second photo), had been left out of a deal they thought they had already closed with the socialists. This internal crisis is, needless to say, having a negative impact on the bank and its customers in what is a text-book example of the increasing politicisation of the savings bank sector of the banking industry.

Since Mr Zaplana gave up the regional presidency, which he left in the hands of Mr Camps, whom he himself had named as his successor, there has been a noticeable decline in the cohesion of the party which governs the region's main institutions. 'Zaplanistas' and 'campistas' spurn few opportunities to air their differences in public and any issue will do. While Mr Camps has managed to exert control in the provinces of Valencia and Castellón -albeit with the controversial support of Carlos Fabra- the shutters remain in place in the region's southernmost province, where, acting through the president of Alicante provincial council, José Joaquín Ripoll, Mr Zaplana continues to exert his influence despite the best efforts of regional party directors. Hitherto, the battlegrounds have been the party's candidate for the mayorship of Alicante, for the presidency of the provincial council and even internal training procedures. And now it has finally reached the CAM.

The Valencian savings bank sector is more than a financial institution, it is one of the keys to power in the region. Controlling the major players goes much further than financial decision-making and, as is sadly often the case, speculation about the wisdom of apparently politically-motivated decisions to invest in one or another of the region's leading companies is the bread and butter of Spain's business and political observers. To control the CAM is to control an important flow of finance that neither Mr Camps nor Mr Zaplana is prepared to yield to the other.

The campistas seemed to have won the first skirmish when they signed a global pact with the PSOE over the make-up of the boards of the region's three main savings banks (cajas de ahorros) -Bancaja, CAM and Caixa Ontinyent. Regional Economy minister, Gerard Camps declared that the war was over, confident that he had managed to wrest control from the former regional president. Backed by the Murcian branch of the party, their intention was to keep Vicente Sala in place as president for a couple of years prior to the eventual succession of current provincial vice-president, Modesto Crespo.

Meanwhile, supporters of Mr Zaplana had not been sitting around with their arms folded. The proposal sidelined the man they had earmarked for the post, current vice-president, Armando Sala, who is a close friend of the party's parliamentary spokesman in Madrid. The Alicante branch of the party resolved to put out feelers to the socialists and offered the provincial Territory department to Jesús Navarro, a local businessman with close ties to regional party secretary, Joan Ignasi Pla. It seemed to be an unrefusable offer from the socialists' point of view as, not only were they improving their standing on the provincial council, but also widening the rift in the PP just five months before regional and municipal elections. The day the pact was announced the regional party split in two. Gerardo Camps accused the socialists of breaking their word, apparently oblivious to the fact that they had formed a pact with the minister's own party. So now there are two lists of political appointees to the saving bank's board of directors.

Mr Camps declared that all agreements over the region's major savings banks were now broken just hours before the Bancaja's general assembly where there was only one list of candidates, but the opportunity to punish the PSOE by tampering with it t their detriment. To his credit, Bancaja president, José Luis Olivas, distanced himself from the crisis, resisted political pressure to change the composition of his board, and the original list of directors was endorsed.

Any solution to the problem is bound to be complex, and the campista faction is apparently trying to remedy the situation with a tripartite pact. However, the zaplanistas have control of the board, which is made up of twenty directors, ten of whom are politically appointed, and are likely to have their way. This will probably mean that Vicente Sala's contract will not be renewed, and Roberto López Abad is unlikely to continue as general director.

The PSOE have indicated a complete willingness to continue negotiations, but will not accept any proposal worse than the one already on the table. Meanwhile there is a certain triumphalism among the ranks of Mr Zaplana's supporters, who believe the battle to have been won, and who are looking to score further victories over electoral nominations.

Whatever the eventual outcome may be, the incident has affected the image of the CAM and the rest of the savings bank sector where they will have an uphill battle to convince existing and potential new customers that their money is being invested for sound financial, and not politically motivated reasons.