CaixaBank’s Board of Directors confirmed on Thursday the bank’s ongoing mortgage support measures for customers facing difficulties. The plan, approved after a two-month negotiation, was outlined by the bank and its vice president, Nadia Calviño, on Tuesday and reflects a commitment to implement the program in the near term with the support of the La Caixa Foundation.
Key stakeholders within CaixaBank emphasize that the bank aims to support society as a whole, especially customers in hardship. The institution has historically acted in this spirit, and it reiterates its duty to contribute to economic and social welfare. In a memo, President Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri stresses the importance of the country’s well-being and the bank’s active role in providing aid. The bank’s Good Practices Code for restructuring mortgages for vulnerable borrowers has been in effect since 2012, with 35% of 62,526 operations approved by the end of 2021 industry-wide.
CaixaBank, according to CEO Gonzalo Gortázar, remains in a strong position to assist families and businesses, underscoring that the economic downturn necessitates measured, responsible action. He highlights the bank’s social function and its obligation to support the broader economy and society.
The bank describes its work as a deeply social vocation expressed across three areas: helping customers in difficulty, financial participation, and social enterprises. This includes improving mortgage conditions for approximately 360,000 borrowers since the last crisis and confirming 27,000 mortgage-related relief actions. Financial participation involves a robust branch and ATM network to ensure the population has access to banking services, while social enterprises include dividends to the La Caixa Foundation to fund its social programs.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, CaixaBank reported substantial measures: 500,000 mortgage and consumer loan moratoria, rent forgiveness for 4,800 households, and the management of a social housing program comprising 12,800 units. The bank emphasizes its broad geographic coverage, noting its presence across more than 2,200 municipalities and a substantial lending footprint in smaller communities. By year-end, nearly 40 percent of its branches will serve populations under 10,000 residents, and the bank operates 17 offices with mobile services in 626 municipalities across Castilla y León, the Valencian Community, La Rioja, Castilla-La Mancha, the Community of Madrid, and Andalusia.
Regarding care for customers, CaixaBank has announced more than a dozen initiatives this year with a total investment of 50 million euros. Initiatives include forming a management expert team dedicated to these customers, currently consisting of over 1,100 professionals and expected to reach 2,000 next year; extended hours for tellers in offices; enhanced communication across channels; the 100% accessibility of ATMs for laptop use with a user-friendly system; and the launch of a Digital Skills education program featuring more than 3,000 training sessions.
Through its social banking arm, MicroBank, Europe’s leading microfinance institution in Spain has financed 1,243,332 projects that deliver social impact, totaling nearly 8,000 million euros in funding and contributing directly to approximately 293,000 jobs. Analyzing the beneficiaries, around 32% of microloans target individuals under 35, and roughly half of the operations support women.
In terms of financial inclusion, the bank offers commission-free social accounts for people with very low incomes or special vulnerabilities, expanding the reach of its basic account. This product currently serves about 357,000 customers.