La Caixa Foundation and Criteria return their registered office to Catalonia

La Caixa returns to Catalonia more than seven years later. The board of trustees of the foundation chaired by Isidro Fainé has unanimously agreed this Wednesday to return its registered office to Barcelona. CriteriaCaixa, an investment holding company whose sole shareholder is the foundation, will also do so. For now, CaixaBank's registered office will remain in Valencia.

This reverses a measure taken as a result of the independence process, when the foundation and the holding company moved their headquarters to Palma de Mallorca in 2017, as did CaixaBank, in its case, to Valencia. Along with Banco Sabadell, they were among the first entities to make the decision after the 1-O referendum, followed later by more than 4,000 companies.

With the arrival of the socialist Salvador Illa to the Govern, La Caixa joins other recent returns such as that of Banco Sabadell and Molins. Precisely, to make the decision to return, the board of trustees of the banking foundation has highlighted that "the circumstances that caused the temporary transfer of said headquarters to the city of Palma in 2017 no longer exist."

For the President of the Generalitat, the foundation's announcement is "a confirmation that we are on the right track." "Institutional stability, rigor and legal certainty are positive and help to make decisions of this type," Illa said. The leader of the Catalan executive also said that "it is about doing work and not making noise, and, if done this way, things end up getting on track."

"The return shows that it is time to bet on Catalonia," Illa claimed, while the Government of Pedro Sánchez has defended that it is "another sign of the positive impact of the normalization of the political and economic situation in Catalonia." In fact, the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, has assured that "it will not be the only" company that returns its registered office to Catalonia, due to a "virtuous circle" that he believes will favor more returns.

For its part, Pimec has indicated that the decision of the entity chaired by Isidro Fainé "reinforces confidence in the dynamism" of Catalonia and "contributes to consolidating a more stable and competitive environment for companies and professionals." From the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Josep Santacreu, has framed the return as "a normalization movement" and has described it as a "natural step."

Back to Diagonal

Both Fundación La Caixa and CriteriaCaixa once again have their registered office on Avenida Diagonal, where their operational headquarters are located. The foundation has emphasized that the change of headquarters "does not imply movement of people or corporate spaces or services," taking into account that most employees and work centers have always been located in Barcelona.

Likewise, it added that its commitment to the Balearic Islands and the city of Palma remains "unaltered," where La Caixa has had a presence since 1913. It will do so through the development of social support programs and the commitment to CaixaForum Palma.

"A firm commitment to its roots"

After communicating the decision to return to Catalonia, Fundación La Caixa wanted to highlight that it has "a firm commitment to its roots." A history that dates back to when it was founded as Caja de Pensiones para la Vejez y de Ahorros de Catalunya y Baleares in 1904 by the Barcelona lawyer Francesc Moragas, with the support of various entities of Catalan civil society. "Since its origins, Fundación La Caixa has been characterized by a strong social commitment and a vocation to work for the general interest, both through financial activity and its social action," it stressed.