Fainé puts an end to the speculation and renews his term as president of La Caixa for another four years

BarcelonaThe doubts have vanished. Isidre Fainé (Manresa, 1942) has been re-elected president of the La Caixa Foundation for another four years. At the same time, Javier Godó (publisher of) has been reappointed as vice president. The VanguardJosé María Álvarez-Pallete (former president of Telefónica), Luis Carreras (lawyer and vice president of the Red Cross in Barcelona), Isabel Estapé (notary), María Isabel Gabarró (notary), Eugeni Gay (lawyer), and Francesc Homs (president of In and president of Nestlé) will continue as board members. In all cases, the re-election approved by the board this Monday is for the statutory four-year term. Furthermore, the 2026 budget for social work increases by more than 8%, to 710 million euros.

The information is released on the very day that the Financial Times An extensive report titled "The Powerful and Reserved Agent with Tight Control Over Spanish Companies" was published about the La Caixa Foundation. The article highlights that Fainé's age—he will turn 84 this year—and his power and control over the entity "cause concern." It also notes that through Criteria, La Caixa has a presence and decision-making power in many large companies, starting with CaixaBank (with a 31% stake), where it shares a board with the Spanish government; but also Telefónica (9.99%), Naturgy (25.99%), ACS (9.36%), Colonial (17.32%), and the French company Veolia (5%).

In case there were any doubts, and also putting an end to rumors that the Spanish government was looking for a possible replacement for the Foundation's president, whose term was up for renewal this year, Fainé and the board of trustees have made it clear that no radical changes are expected in the near future. The Foundation's president remained unflappable. when Ángel Simón stepped down last year As CEO of Criteria, just a few months after his appointment, he resigned due to disagreements with his decisions and his close ties to the Moncloa Palace (the Spanish Prime Minister's residence). Under Simón's leadership, La Caixa allied itself with Pedro Sánchez's government to strengthen its stake in Telefónica and halt the Saudi-owned TC's rise to a larger shareholding.

Furthermore, Fainé strongly disliked the decision, at Simón's urging, to dismiss Álvarez-Pallete as president of Telefónica and replace him with Marc Murtra. He also disliked the assumption that Criteria's investment in [the company] was a done deal. the steel company Celsa and others. In fact, in this new phase, the strategic plan designed by Simón has been reformulated, and the roadmaps of this company and the Foundation have been more closely linked, with a more selective approach and a commitment to giving decision-making power to the most strategically important subsidiaries. Fainé has always wanted to shield the entity from potential political takeovers. He also demonstrated his resolve when he appointed the secretary of Criteria and the Foundation, Josep Maria Coronas, General Director of the FoundationThis prompted an angry departure from the former vice president, notary Juan José López Burniol. According to information from the organization, which oversees the investment firm Criteria, holding the largest portfolio of business shares in Spain, valued at over €30 billion, the latest decisions by the board of trustees were unanimous. It was also decided to appoint Baldiri Ros, president of the Sant Isidre Catalan Agricultural Institute, as a trustee, replacing Xavier Brossa, originally nominated by the Barcelona Economic Society of Friends of the Country, whose term has now ended.

The board of trustees also approved the 2025 accounts, a year in which €655 million was allocated to social projects, funded by dividends received from Criteria, as well as the 2026 budget, which reaches €710 million, an 8.4% increase. Last year, the Foundation served nearly 250,000 beneficiaries in Spain and Portugal (the group controls the Portuguese bank BPI) through its social investment programs. Since its transformation into a foundation, La Caixa has allocated €6.15 billion to developing social initiatives, research, scholarships, and cultural programs, the entity highlights. The new 2026 budget is in line with the strategic plan approved last June, which foresees the entity investing €4 billion by 2030 "to drive social transformation."

The board of trustees is now composed as follows:

President: Isidro Fainé Casas (BK_SLT_LNA) Vice President: Javier Godó Muntañola (BK_SLT_LNA) Members: Don José María Álvarez-Pallete López, María Barrera Xaubet, Luis Carreras del Rincón (appointed by the Spanish Red Cross), Isabel Estapé Tous, María Isay (appointed by Cáritas Diocesana de Barcelona), Francisco Homs Ferret, Pablo Isla Alvarez de Tejera, Marco Murtra Millar (president of Telefónica), Asunción Ortega Enciso, Francisco Reynés Massanet (president of Naturgy and vice president of Criteria), Baldiri Ros Prat (appointed by (BPI).