The Economy of Catalonia

Financial institutions with headquarters* 20 in Catalonia:
banks, savings banks and credit unions
In Catalonia, savings banks (caixes) have played a much more important
role in the past than the country’s banks proper. In recent years, however,
a radical change has been sparked off by the crisis in the financial system
and has led, on the one hand, to the conversion of savings banks into
banks and, on the other, to the disappearance of many others which have
been absorbed by banking groups with headquarters outside Catalonia.
In this respect it is enlightening to take a brief look at how the map of the
Catalan financial system has changed in recent years in terms of the financial
institutions which have their headquarters there.
A summary will be found in Table 1 of the situation of Catalan financial
institutions at the end of 2009.
In the following paragraphs we outline the most notable changes in the
configuration of the Catalan financial system from 2009 to the present.
– Catalunya Banc
• Merger of Caixa Catalunya, Caixa Tarragona and Caixa Manresa
(March 2010)
• 12,052 million euros in government bailouts
• 66% of the capital owned by the FROB (Fondo de Reestructuración
Ordenada Bancaria - Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring)
(December 2012)
• 32.4% of the capital owned by the FGDEC (Fondo de Garantía
de Depósitos de Entidades de Crédito – Deposit Guarantee Fund
of Credit Institutions) arising from the liquidation proposal made
to the holders of hybrids.
• 1.2% of the capital owned by holders of hybrids who did not accept
the liquidation proposal.
• 0.45% of the capital in the bank’s own treasury shares
20. Translator’s note: the word «headquarters», as used in this article, can refer to the
international head office or, in some cases, to the head office for Spain.
108 The Economy of Catalonia