Before CaixaBank’s corporate shareholders’ meeting in Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències de València, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, the bank’s president, described the economic landscape as clearly positive in terms of geopolitical shifts since the Ukraine conflict began, yet acknowledged that inflationary risks were clearly emerging. He insisted that, despite ongoing uncertainty about how the global economy, and particularly Europe, will perform, a modest improvement trajectory for the year remained plausible. He pointed to the pronounced volatility seen in financial markets and, notably, in energy markets, as evidence of the unsettled environment that persists despite any hopeful signs.
In light of this backdrop, CaixaBank revised its growth projections for Spain downward. The forecast was adjusted down by 1.3 percentage points, moving from 5.5% prior to the Russia-Ukraine invasion to 4.2%. The bank also lowered its anticipated average inflation rate for 2022 to 6.8%, a revision of three percentage points from the estimate published in March. Goirigolzarri argued that the longer-term consequences of the war would dwarf the near-term economic effects, noting that the seismic shifts in geostrategy are likely to have lasting significance for the global economy and especially for Europe. He underscored the human dimension of the conflict, as well as the decisive role of policy responses, emphasizing that the European Union’s actions would play a crucial part in shaping the coming period and that many corporate strategies would need to adapt to new paradigms as supply chains undergo redefinition.
Goirigolzarri highlighted that the banking sector is navigating a climate markedly different from the one that followed the 2008 financial crisis. He chose not to overstate CaixaBank’s unique strengths in this context, but he did stress several key factors: the bank’s leadership in market activity, a robust liquidity position, and a strong solvency profile that collectively reinforce its resilience.
CEO Gonzalo Gortázar noted that the completion of Bankia’s integration process, finalized the previous year, should shift from being primarily an integration effort to acting as a growth engine that supports full commercial performance. This shift is expected to be driven by rising expectations and the gradual normalization of monetary policy. While predicting exact movements remains challenging, there is reason to believe that negative interest rates will soon be behind the sector, and that a gradual uptick in rates could positively impact the bank’s net interest margin.
During CaixaBank’s annual shareholders meeting, a dividend proposal was approved, detailing a distribution of 0.1463 euros per share for the 2021 fiscal year, effective from 20 April. The decision translates into a payout of 1,179 million euros to shareholders, representing half of the consolidated net profit adjusted for the merger’s extraordinary effects with Bankia. Additionally, the meeting supported the re-election of Tomás Muniesa as vice president and Eduardo Javier Sanchiz, a private independent director, each for four-year terms.
The institution’s governance body also approved a reduction in CaixaBank’s capital to a maximum of 10 percent, with annual accounts kept aligned to this limit, and it confirmed the chairman’s casting vote in the event of a board tie. Remuneration for board members was maintained for 2022, underscoring a continued commitment to governance stability as the bank positions itself for the next phase of growth.