CaixaBank : A different bank. By Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of CaixaBank

By Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of CaixaBank

The economic crisis of recent years has affected everyone. Citizens were the most affected, but the financial sector has also suffered the rigours of the recession, worsened by a deterioration of its public image.

Each financial entity has faced this crisis in order to overcome it and recover the trust of society. I wish to recall what CaixaBank has done during these years and how we continue to contribute to society today to continue improving its well-being. It is our commitment, present in our foundational values.

Faithful to our vocation, during the crisis, the Caixa Group made available a collection of more than 33,500 homes to families under a social support lease scheme. A significant part of these homes are the result of the over 22,000 dations in payment made. It is a way to affront a specific problem, assuming as one's own the complex situation that may be experienced by a customer during a moment in his/her life, offering socially responsible solutions.

Our presence in the territory through our branches extends to 93% of municipalities with over 5,000 inhabitants, providing coverage to 98.7% of the Spanish population. In times in which many people no longer have a branch, CaixaBank continues to pledge for a mixed model, converting us into one of the most innovative banks in the world in terms of on-line services, without forgetting in-person banking, renewed in our new branch models.

Furthermore, our net contribution to resolving the crisis amounts to €4,100 million. It arises from contributions to the Deposit Guarantee Fund and the European Resolution Fund, the refund of public aid received at the time by Banca Cívica and the contribution to Sareb. In a complicated environment in which most of society perceives that the entire Spanish banking sector required public support, it is important to point out that entities such as CaixaBank not only does not require it, rather that we contribute with equity to resolve the problem.

CaixaBank is, of course, different and I can provide another example: the almost 15,000 employees that have devoted hours of their free time to working as volunteers, collaborating with the 'la Caixa' Foundation's social projects. A foundation that is also fed by CaixaBank's dividend to contribute more significantly to change disadvantaged sectors of society for the best, through an annual budget of €500 million.

The banking sector will only be profitable in a sustainable manner if society perceives that it generates value. At CaixaBank, we are convinced that we will continue contributing value to our customers, shareholders and to society in general, because our social commitment goes beyond not only the social project undertaken by our shareholder the 'la Caixa' Banking Foundation, but also due to the different way in which we carry out our financial activities.