The Institut Català de Finances (ICF) steps on the accelerator and boosts its activity. Operations in loans, guarantees, and venture capital promoted by the Catalan public bank reached 847 million euros during 2024, a 32% increase compared to the previous year. In total, the entity benefited nearly 1,700 users, 97% of whom were small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs.
The ICF's activity has once again been dominated by loans and guarantees granted to companies and entities, which have increased by 36% compared to 2023. Thus, the public bank has mobilized up to 811 million euros, about 214 million more than in its previous fiscal year. The manufacturing, energy, and agri-food industries have once again repeated as the most benefited sector, with one out of every four euros from loan and guarantee operations, a total of 205 million euros. However, looking ahead to 2025, the public bank sets two clear priorities: boosting the primary sector and promoting social housing, as detailed by its CEO, Vanessa Servera, during the presentation of the ICF's 2024 balance sheet.
A commitment to promoting social rental that, in fact, the entity has already strengthened this 2024, quadrupling financing in this area. Thus, the promotion of social housing has become the second most benefited sector by the ICF during 2024, even surpassing trade and tourism, which used to occupy this second position. In total, the public bank has granted up to 201 million euros for the promotion of flats, a figure that has driven the construction of nearly 1,960 social homes.
Looking ahead to 2025, the ICF plans to triple this line and grant up to 600 million euros for social housing, an increase that will foreseeably make housing the most benefited sector this year. This growth is part of Salvador Illa's Government plan to build 50,000 affordable homes. The president of the ICF's Governing Board, Juli Fernández, recalled that the bank is an "autonomous body" of the Government, but that it must serve as a "lever to achieve the great objectives it plans."
In total, public banking plans to allocate some 500 million euros to promote the construction of social rental housing and an additional 100 million euros to ensure that young people can emancipate themselves. The CEO has assured that they have already received "a significant number of applications" for housing construction projects, from both public and private developers.
On the other hand, public banking also reinforces its commitment to the primary sector. Servera has pointed out that, despite being the fourth most benefited sector by the entity ---with 11% of the total financing---, this area is the one that brings together the largest number of financed companies. In total, the ICF benefited a total of 1,170 farmers and ranchers during 2024 with 87.5 million in loans and guarantees, 13% more than in 2023.
The ICF closed 2024 with net profits of 33 million, 16 less than in 2023Although the ICF has increased its investment in companies and entities by 36%, the number of financed companies has only increased by 2%. A moderate growth that Servera has explained by the "concentration of operations." The CEO has also emphasized that, on average, the loans and guarantees granted by public banks have a repayment period of 15 years,fact that represents "a relevant difference with private banking, which normally offers financing with a seven-year term." Servera has also highlighted that, of these loans and guarantees, more than half have been allocated to projects with environmental, social, and governance criteria.
In contrast to this significant increase in loan and guarantee operations, the ICF's venture capital activity has decreased, from 43.8 million in its previous fiscal year to 36 million during 2024. In this regard, the CEO has detailed that public banking is increasingly opting for direct investment in companies, while it has halved its investment in external funds.
"More portfolio and less delinquency"
Through its activity, the ICF closed 2024 with net profits of 33 million euros, 16.4 million less than in 2023. However, the CEO of the public bank has justified this reduction with the fact that more provisions have been made "to be able to face the growth we are experiencing." "We want solid and robust growth, with more cash, more portfolio, and less delinquency," Servera added. In fact, the delinquency rate of the ICF's client portfolio has dropped four tenths, standing at 6.7%, and its loan portfolio has increased to 2,395 million euros.
The entity was born in 1985 to respond to the financing and investment needs of the Catalan business and social fabric. During its four decades of activity, the Catalan public bank has financed a total of 37,000 companies, self-employed individuals, and entities with an amount exceeding 16,000 million euros. This year, with the high increase in its activity, the entity also plans to increase its workforce, now made up of a total of 135 employees.
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