EH Bildu wants Basque institutions to control Kutxabank, the Basque bank run by the PNV from the foundations

Josean Izarra Vitoria

Victoria

Updated Tuesday, April 2, 2024-11:52

EH Bildu wants Basque institutions to once again control Kutxabank, the bank that emerged in 2011 from the merger of the banking business of the three Basque savings banks. The nationalist coalition that is fighting for the first time in the history of Euskadi to defeat the PNV in regional elections considers that the three banking foundations that are the shareholders of the bank "do not guarantee democratic control" of the most important financial entity in Euskadi.

The EH Bildu candidate Pello Otxandiano has today outlined the EH Bildu industrial proposal that he will apply if he comes to power. Two days after Arnaldo Otegi defended in Pamplona the priority of governing as a platform to maintain an alleged independence project, Otxandiano has shown the most institutional version.

EH Bildu's proposal incorporates the objective of Basque institutions recovering control of Kutxabank, an entity that generated 510.7 million euros in 2023 and which leads, among other financial products, the granting of Basque mortgages. The Basque bank is owned by the BBK, Vital and Kutxa banking foundations, which have militants and former PNV officials as presidents. Xabier Sagredo, the president of the BBK, is the cornerstone of control by the three Kutxabank foundations. BBK owns 57% of the shares of the Basque bank, the Guipuzcoan Kutxa 32% and Vital owns 11%. The share distribution also determines the distribution of the profits that Kutxabank generates annually.

Sagredo, trained at the Sarriko Faculty of Economics (UPV), began his professional career at Ipar Kutxa and since 2013 he has controlled Kutxabank from the presidency of the BBK. Until his appointment as president of the BBK, he had made his career as an economist compatible with participation in the leadership of the PNV in Bizkaia.

The boards of trustees of the three banking foundations are elected based on political representation in the Basque councils and town councils, the institutions that founded the old Basque savings banks. Bildu is now opening the melon on the control of Kutxabank just three days after the president of the PNV Andoni Ortuzar warned of an alleged "hidden agenda" of his electoral rival. The Abertzale coalition proposes from "a responsible attitude and committed to the general interest of Basque citizens" that "all avenues be explored that allow institutions to regain control" of the bank.

In addition, it is also proposed to "establish a mandatory investment coefficient in productive companies for banks, based on their liabilities" to increase Basque financing of the industrial fabric. Another measure not activated until now is to "modify the regulations on EPSVs to encourage greater investment in industrial, business, or social interest projects."

Kutxabank closed 2023 with a profit of 510.7 million euros but wanted to contextualize its economic results as a result of its role in "creating economic and social value", in the words of its president Anton Arriola. A return that the Basque bank quantifies at 1,314 million euros when including the payment of the payroll of its 5,000 employees, the services contracted to its suppliers, the taxes paid and the contribution of more than 306 million to its three banking foundations and sole shareholders. of the financial institution.