The Fundación Bancaria La Caixa moved its headquarters to Palma (Balearic Islands) on October 7, 2017, due to the Catalan independence process.
BARCELONA/MADRID, 5 (EUROPA PRESS)
The board of trustees of the Fundación Bancaria La Caixa has unanimously agreed to return the social headquarters of the foundation and CriteriaCaixa to Catalonia, nearly seven and a half years after their relocation to Palma (Balearic Islands), as reported in a statement this Wednesday.
The new social address will be located in Tower II of the central headquarters of the entity, between numbers 621 and 629 on Avenida Diagonal in Barcelona.
The foundation and Criteria relocated their headquarters to Palma (Balearic Islands) on October 7, 2017, in order to «preserve their business and social interests, as well as their normal operations,» following the referendum on October 1 of that year, as explained at the time.
The decision is made «considering that the circumstances that caused the temporary relocation of these headquarters to the city of Palma in 2017 no longer exist.»
The entity has assured that the change does not involve the movement of people or corporate spaces or services, as the majority of employees and workplaces have always been located in Barcelona.
«ROOTS»
The foundation has stated that it has «a strong commitment to its roots» and has recalled that it was founded in 1904 by the Barcelona lawyer Francesc Moragas, with the support of various entities from Catalan civil society.
The entity also wanted to «emphasize that its commitment to the Balearic Islands and the city of Palma remains unchanged,» with the development of programs to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable people.
Likewise, it has highlighted the activities of CaixaForum Palma, where the foundation’s board of trustees «will continue to hold the same meetings as before.»
CAIXABANK
Sources from CaixaBank have declined to comment on a possible return of the bank’s headquarters to Barcelona, from where it also left on October 7, 2017, to relocate it to Valencia.
The CEO of the entity, Gonzalo Gortázar, said at a press conference on January 30 that CaixaBank will maintain its headquarters in Valencia and that it is in the city «indefinitely.»
Gortázar said that «there is no news» and that it was not foreseen that the situation of CaixaBank’s social headquarters would change. «We reaffirm our willingness not to change in that regard and not to move the headquarters,» he emphasized.
Asked about the conditions that could imply the return of the social headquarters to Barcelona, Gortázar said that there is no list of conditions to be met and explained that Barcelona is where he spends «most» of his time and where the management committee meets regularly.
However, he added that this fact does not mean that they cannot do the same in Valencia, Madrid, Palma, or any other Spanish city, and he emphasized the «roots» of the entity with Valencia.
THE RETURN OF BANCO SABADELL
This decision is taken almost a month and a half after Banco Sabadell announced the relocation of its social headquarters from Alicante (Valencian Community) to Sabadell (Catalonia).
In the case of the Valles entity, the departure took place two days earlier, on October 5, 2017, although for the same reason, in the midst of the Catalan independence process.
The bank explained at the end of January that «the circumstances that motivated the relocation to Alicante no longer exist,» referring to the political change in Catalonia, now governed by the PSC and Salvador Illa.
However, the change in Sabadell has also taken place in a context marked by the hostile takeover bid that BBVA wants to launch on the bank.
It has not been the only one: on December 3, the cement company Molins also approved the return of the social headquarters to Catalonia, after relocating it to Madrid in 2017. Previously, Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona (SGAB) also made this decision in September 2018; Red Points, in June 2023, and Laboratorios Ordesa, in October 2023.
REACTIONS
Sources from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Business have welcomed the return of the headquarters: «It is very good news and another sign of the positive impact of the normalization of the political and economic situation in Catalonia.»
For his part, the president of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre, said it is «great news for the economy and the future of the country.» He also wanted to «congratulate and thank» the president of both the foundation and Criteria, Isidro Fainé, for the decision.
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