CaixaBank has closed the first half of 2022 earning 1,573 million euros, 17.1% more "on a comparable basis" compared to the previous year thanks to the increase in commercial activity and the cost savings due to the integration with

Bankia

.

The good results, however, have nothing to do with "extraordinarily high profits", in the opinion of the CEO,

Gonzalo Gortázar

, who insisted this Friday in Valencia that the banking sector continues to be unprofitable.

And in this scenario, the new bank tax projected by the Government is not sustained.

With this approach, Gortázar has charged hard against the new tax that, according to the entity's first calculations, could have an impact for next year of between 400 and 450 million euros.

"It is an erroneous and mistaken measure, because it is unfair, distorting and counterproductive"

, has sentenced the director of an entity of which, in addition, the State itself controls 16% through the participation of the

FROB

in the shareholding.

The new banking tax will be levied at 4.8% on interest and commissions, with which the sector's rejection, through the

Spanish Banking Association

(AEB) and the

Association of Savings Banks and Banks

(CECA), is not has kept waiting.

If Bankinter openly spoke of going to court, CaixaBank does not rule it out at all: "We keep all options open."

In Gortázar's opinion, the new figure is initially unfair because "it has been proposed on the basis that the banks have extraordinarily high results and it is not true."

As of March 31, the average profitability of the sector in Spain in the last 12 months was 5.37%.

"It is not a high return but a low one, that is the reality," said Gortázar, who admitted that the rise in interest rates could give the sector air.

Even so, CaixaBank's results for this first half show a 3.6% drop in interest margin, and the forecast is that they will continue to fall at the end of the year.

"The

rise in interest rates

will help to improve, but we do not know the evolution of the economic situation and the impact on non-performing loans", explained Gortázar.

In other words, the worsening of the crisis may also fully affect the banks and reduce their income statement.

Therefore, in his words, "a tax cannot be proposed on the basis of high profits because they do not exist."

In fact, CaixaBank does not have a "crystal ball", but it maintains a collective fund of remaining provisions amounting to 1,257 million euros in the face of what may happen at the macroeconomic level.

Gortázar has not ruled out a

recession in the Eurozone

by the beginning of 2023, although he has made it clear that Spain will be in better conditions than the large Europeans due to its lesser dependence on Russian gas.

Secondly, he has branded the tax "distorting" to the extent that it

only affects banking entities whose profits exceed 800 million

euros.

"We compete with many entities that do not reach that threshold and distort," said the CEO.

And he has not only referred to Spanish entities, but also to foreign banks with a branch in Spain: "We put Spanish banks at a competitive disadvantage to finance our companies."

What's more, he has also pointed out to the vulture funds: "Are we going to let them be more competitive than banks to finance companies? It's not reasonable. It's distorting because it doesn't help healthy competition."

For Gortázar,

the design of the tax even goes against European regulations

for good banking practices, which oblige banks to pass on all costs "to avoid credit bubbles."

"And the Spanish regulations now say the opposite", he lamented.

And third, the tax is directly "counterproductive."

The reason is none other than the supposed weakening that it will entail for the banking sector.

Gortázar has recalled that "the lesson of past economic crises shows that if the financial sector is strong, the impact of the crisis is less serious".

He has even stressed that 30% of CaixaBank's profits go to social work through the "la Caixa" Foundation: "To make a tax on CaixaBank is to make a tax on social work".

Therefore, there are basically two paths that open up if the government carries out the tax, as Gortázar has warned.

Either the costs of credit generation are passed on as mandated by European regulations, or they are not passed on, but then there will be no credit.

In short, "we will either have more expensive credit or no credit."

"Are we going to tax an unprofitable sector by pointing it out as responsible for helping others more?"

, has been asked, to precisely answer the question of why it is not reasonable for banks to pay more taxes if they are earning more.

"If things go better we will help more," she said, referring to the corporate tax they already pay.

From this point of view, the new tax "is either pure and simple collection or it is not well designed."

Gortázar has urged the Executive of Pedro Sánchez to "not penalize large companies" when, in the case of banking, it is also trading below the book value on the stock market.

"The industrial fabric of the country must also have great champions", he concluded.

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