The Generalitat's public bank, the ICF, is increasing its staff to also serve individuals.

BarcelonaThe Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF), the Catalan government's public bank, will increase its workforce by 29 to meet its plan to allocate 600 million euros annually to finance social housing. The new feature is that the institution will be able to serve individuals for the first time. Specifically, young people up to 35 years old who request a 20% down payment on their first home, within the framework of the so-called emancipation fund, endowed with 100 million euros annually. The ICF currently has 108 professionals.

Article 8 of the 2022 decree regulating this institution stipulated that it could only finance companies, entities, and individuals in the exercise of their professional or business activity. Now its scope of action has been expanded, allowing financing to both individuals and legal entities, with a focus on policies related to social housing. The government plans to authorize the staff increase this Tuesday, using the same ICF resources, according to ARA.

The amount increases fivefold.

The idea is to address the increase in funds allocated to housing policies, which have increased fivefold, as agreed by the ICF governing board. The goal is to be able to provide this service to both public and private developers who want to build social housing, as well as to young people who need a fifth of the down payment to buy their first home. Of the agreed annual 600 million, a total of 500 million per year will be financed by developers. The other 100 million will be used for the emancipation fund so that young people can afford the down payment on their first home on the free market, but at a limited price (a new figure that means it can only be sold at the purchase price plus the increase in the cost of living). The 12,000 families that the government estimates will benefit from this will not have to repay the down payment until 30 years later, once the loan for the purchase of the home has been paid off, to prevent debt from accumulating.

This new step within the ICF strategy occurs After the entity decided not to apply for a bank license again in 2023 to operate as any financial entity serving the public., such as through the management of customer deposits. Last year, the ICF had attempted to obtain this authorization by petitioning the European Central Bank (ECB). The Bank of Spain objected, citing technical reasons and the lack of a favorable report from the European Commission on potential state aid.

Last year, the ICF financed 1,694 companies and entities. Industry was the most financed sector, with €205 million. At the same time, the institution quadrupled its financing for social housing, reaching €201 million, and enabled the construction of 1,956 subsidized apartments. This year, the amount for housing policies totals €600 million. In total, the ICF mobilized 847.4 million last year through its activities, which range from loans to guarantees and venture capital, representing a 32% increase compared to 2023.