 In 2003, it opened its first offices in Gipuzkoa and officially became Ipar Kutxa ("union of the North" in basque).When it merged with Caja Laboral, Ipar Kutxa had 3.967 million in assets, 87 offices (mainly in Biscay and Alava), 175,000 clients and 397 workers (fuente).In March 2012, Caja Laboral and Ipar Kutxa announced the beginning of formal conversations to its merging.