La Caixa: the soul returns home
Following the return of Banco Sabadell, which in the midst of the BBVA takeover bid decided to return its headquarters to the co-capital of Vallès Occidental where it had been born more than 140 years ago – and from where it was taken out in 2017 to Alicante – all eyes were on La Caixa. And it is not surprising that this was the case considering that we are talking about one of the most important charities in the world: the La Caixa Foundation and its social work is the indirect owner of the main business and industrial portfolio of the Spanish state, through its holding company Criteria. More than seven years ago, after the referendum of 1-O, it decided to change its registered office and move to Palma.
The decision taken by this entity chaired by Isidre Fainé is one of the most powerful possible messages that the situation in Catalonia is returning to that normality that, since he became president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa has been striving to implement. The institutional part has already started to function for a few months and now it is the business part that is joining in. Before Sabadell did so, Molins, the cement company that in 2017 had moved its headquarters to Madrid with fragility within the family that owns it included. La Caixa has now wanted to do its part, after Sabadell did so in a maneuver that is part of its strategy to hinder BBVA's plans.
The main portfolio of business and industrial holdings in Spain indirectly depends on the Foundation, with a budget for social work that this year amounts to 655 million, 9% more than in the previous year and an unprecedented figure. In fact, the company through which this asset is managed, CriteriaCaixa, is also returning from Mallorca to the Catalan capital. The board of trustees explains why it has reversed a move that, it now says, was "temporary." "The agreement reached today by the board of trustees is made taking into account that the circumstances that caused the temporary transfer of the headquarters to the city of Palma in 2017 no longer exist," says the statement after the meeting on Wednesday.
The portfolio managed by Criteria, which feeds the social work with dividends from the investees, had a value of around 30,000 million at the end of last year, with a presence as a reference shareholder in Naturgy, Telefónica, ACS and Colonial, among others. And evidently, it is the main shareholder of CaixaBank, the bank with the greatest weight in the Spanish market, which has the State as a partner, with whom it also shares interests in the capital of Telefónica. The most available is a strategic plan that is expected to reach a portfolio of shares worth around 40 billion euros by 2030.
The return of the foundation's social image, the great act that Fainé always encourages and which constitutes the one that defines the soul of The entity (social work) was one of the functions of the current Government of the Generalitat, but also of others. The PSC executive sees his commitment to leaving all traces of the Process behind him, but a good part of the Catalan business world also breathes a sigh of relief and applauds a decision that was expected. Especially since Sabadell chose to return. Now many are keeping their fingers crossed that this move by La Caixa, whose scope is unquestionable, especially in the political and image spheres, will lead to other companies that changed their ways more than seven years ago deciding to imitate it. We'll see.