Gonzalo Gortázar (CaixaBank): "We have land, materials, demand. Building houses isn't that complicated."

MadridThe housing crisis has not gone unnoticed in the banking sector either. While a significant part of its business is granting mortgages, the sector is always sensitive to any problem that threatens the smooth functioning of the economy, and it is this latter element that is raising the most concerns. "Access to housing is one of the main problems [in Spain] [...] and could affect the economy in the medium and long term," stated CaixaBank CEO Gonzalo Gortázar this Wednesday morning during a speech at a breakfast briefing in Madrid. Banks have been lending freely for some time, especially since interest rates began to fall, and maintain that they are doing so under "sound and reasonable" conditions, in Gortázar's words. Delinquency rates also do not seem to be a concern. However, housing demand is "well above" supply, the executive indicated, which is putting upward pressure on prices, including rental prices. "If we don't solve this, it will be a bottleneck for economic growth and, obviously, a major social problem," the executive reiterated.

For the sector, the recipe, or one of the recipes, is to build: "We need to liberalize the [bureaucratic] processes and make land available to developers [...]. If we have land, materials, and demand, it's not so complicated to build houses. In fact, we knew how to do it, and too well, 15 or 20 years ago [referring to the real estate boom before the 2nd]. We need to fix it," Gortázar stated.

Generational gap

"Access to housing is the main problem, especially for young people, who face much worse conditions than before," added Gortázar, who illustrated this point by saying: "The average [real estate] assets of those over 64, compared to those under 35, have multiplied due to a single problem." The CEO of CaixaBank called for a "national consensus" to address this housing shortage and criticized the "evident problem" of coordination between public administrations. In this regard, a land law, which the banking sector views favorably, has been languishing in the Congress of Deputies for some time. He is closing the door on acquisitions.

Even with the fallout from BBVA's failed takeover bid for Banc Sabadell still fresh, Gortázar was also asked about the hot topic in banking: consolidation in the sector, both in Spain and across Europe. "We've said enough," he asserted, closing the door on the possibility of CaixaBank participating in future deals, although he didn't rule out the possibility of such transactions in the sector. The executive argued that doing so in an "orderly" and "agreed-upon" manner generates value, citing the friendly merger with Bankia in 2021 as an example. That operation, in fact, was sponsored by the State, which has since been mandated to exit at the appropriate time, through the bank's shareholders. "I have never doubted that the divestment mandate will be applied," Gortázar stated.