CaixaBank insists to shareholders that it will maintain its headquarters in Valencia.

ValenciaThe La Caixa Foundation and its investment arm, Criteria—the bank's main shareholder—announced a month ago the return of their headquarters to Barcelona, ​​but CaixaBank remains in Valencia. The bank's new president, Tomàs Muniesa, expressed his respect for the La Caixa Foundation's decision to return in his opening address to the meeting, but he remained on the sidelines. "We are proud that CaixaBank is the benchmark bank in the Valencian Community," he said.

Antoni Cano, secretary general of the Savings Federation of Catalonia, criticized the bank's decision. "CaixaBank must return to Catalonia. What does it expect? There is no advice or advantage to remaining in Valencia. It's a matter of restitution and justice," he said.

In 2017, after 1-O and amid strong economic and political pressuresCaixaBank decided to move its headquarters to Valencia. The merger with Bankia in 2021 reaffirmed the decision to remain in Valencia, with two operational headquarters, one in Barcelona and one in Madrid.

Dividend and new leadership

The general shareholders' meeting held this Friday in Valencia also served to approve the renewal of the board of directors, with the appointment of five new directors and the re-election of three others, as well as the distribution of a dividend of 28 cents to be paid on April 24. This second payment, together with the interim dividend paid in November, raises the cash shareholder remuneration for the 2024 financial year to €0.4352 gross per share.

This represents an increase in the annual gross dividend per share of 11%. All in all, the amount allocated to dividends charged to 2024 results reaches €3,096 million, which represents a payout 53.5%, within the range defined in the cash dividend distribution plan between 50% and 60% of consolidated net profit. If we add to this the executed or announced buybacks already deducted from the 2024 capital (a total of four, for €500 million each), the total distribution to shareholders for the year reaches nearly €5.1 billion. 76,720 shareholders were present or represented at the Valencia Conference Center, representing 82.7% of the share capital.

CaixaBank, which has claimed to contribute 1.18% of GDP to the economy, has been questioned over the treatment and use of this economic investment for social issues. Some interventions have also been used to criticize labor policy and the commercial pressure on the workforce.

Tariff uncertainty

Trump's tariff policy also featured heavily in the general meeting. However, Muniesa declined to quantify its impact: "It is still too early to quantify the impact that the tariff announcements and their evolution may have on growth." The president of the Catalan bank added that the global economy is facing a "very complex and uncertain context" that is particularly affecting Europe.