2023-06-20 12:14:54
The CEO of CaixaBank, Gonzalo Gortazar, highlighted the positive evolution of the economy. “We are surprised because the situation is better than we expected. We expected a year of very low growth, around 1% in Spain and zero in the EU, and in June we are seeing that lthe figures are clearly better“, he stated during a colloquium conference organized by PwC at Foment del Treball. In turn, he defended the need for “a talent management roadmap” in the face of technological change through the political consensus. To questions from the audience, Gortázar, after recalling that the rise in interest rates has been drastic, stated that the remuneration of deposits “He will adapt to the new situation.”
After being presented by the president of Foment, Josep Sánchez Llibre; and the partner and head of PwC in Catalonia and Andorra, José Igncio Marull; the chief executive of CaixaBank has admitted that the situation is “clear uncertainty” which will be maintained in the future and that the business investment it has slowed down, which can be seen in the drop in credit requests. But he has underlined the positive aspects, among which employment stands out. “The job market is working and creating employment in a surprisingly high way, although with unacceptable unemployment levelsbut it is satisfying to see that employment is not deteriorating,” he explained.
He has also underlined the real-estate market. Unlike what happened in the financial crisis, “entities have three times more capital than in 2008.” He has admitted that the measures that were taken after the bursting of that bubble “have resulted in us now being able to face the situation with greater solvency.” He has recalled that the housing situation in the US with the sudden fall of entities like Silicon Valley Bank, have not affected Spanish or European banks. Gortázar has also highlighted the situation of the sector exterior, which is acting as the engine of growth.
The CEO of CaixaBank recalled that, looking to the future, it is necessary to start a plan for the sustainability of public finances to reduce the pubic deficit. After the necessary measures by the administrations due to the pandemic and the war, “a plan is necessary that goes through the consensus of the political forces to avoid a more abrupt adjustment,” he affirmed.
He has also mentioned other “duties” in the medium and long term, which companies must take into account: Technological changes and the turn towards sustainability. He explained that all large companies have a talent management plan in the face of technological change, “but you have to have it as a country and plan for the long term to give people the right skills to avoid the misfortune of involuntary unemployment.” In his opinion, the country needs “this country plan that should happen to put a high degree of political consensus”.
and in matters of sustainability He has explained that the role of companies should not be based only on the maximization of profits, which is legitimate “but on the appropriate impact on society and the environment”. And he has given his entity as an example, which not only carried it out for itself but “helping customers to make that energy transition so that by 2050 their emissions are zero.”
He recalled that since 2017, the entity made the commitment not to abandon any population in which there was no other financial institution, the microcredit activity, which creates some 20,000 jobs a year or 374,000 open basic accounts, since CaixaBank is the flag of the financial inclusion.
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