CaixaBank contributed 9,468 million Euros to the Spanish GDP in 2019 with its activity 346 million more than in 2018, or 0.76% of GDP

CaixaBank contributed 9,468 million Euros to the Spanish GDP in 2019 through its activity, according to the latest report on Socioeconomic Impact and Contribution to Sustainable Development Objectives published by the entity. In a statement, the financial institution reported that the figure quantifies its contribution to economic production in all areas of activity, including contribution to employment, credit investment, taxes paid, dividends distributed, social action carried out and commitment to financial inclusion, among others.
Compared to 2018, CaixaBank increased its annual contribution to national economic production by 346 million, although the net increase did not translate into percentage changes and the bank's contribution to GDP in 2019 remained the same as the previous year: 0.76%, due to the economic growth scenario for the economy as a whole.
CaixaBank's Chairman, Jordi Gual, stated that estimating the social impact generated through financial activity "is fundamental to objectively verify how CaixaBank contributes to the progress of the territories where it operates".

"Our fundamental mission is precisely to work in support of the financial well-being of our clients and, more broadly, to generate value in a sustainable manner for all our stakeholders," said Gual. He also described it as essential to take stock of what has been achieved in different areas "to mark the progress of the CaixaBank Group towards its goal of becoming an international reference in socially responsible banking".

Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of CaixaBank, said that from the point of view of social impact, the 2019 financial year "has been especially marked by an improvement in the application of the principle of sustainability" to the various aspects of the financial business. Gortázar detailed that "special attention" has been paid to projects linked to issues such as the fight against poverty and climate change. "Milestones such as the issue, for the first time in Spain by a bank, of a Social Bond in support of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals", with which CaixaBank has raised 1,000 million Euros to finance loans for social projects and job creation in the most disadvantaged areas of Spain, he explained.

CaixaBank closed the 2019 financial year with 27,572 employees, 98.5% of whom had permanent contracts, and of these, 431 were new incorporations to the bank; and in terms of salaries, the sum of all salaries paid by CaixaBank amounted to 2,059 million euros.
In addition, another 46,440 jobs were generated through the multiplier effect of purchases from suppliers, mainly in Spain, given that 95% of the companies contracted are local: in 2019, the CaixaBank Group paid its suppliers 2.183 million euros.
It also contributed to employment through credit investment: new financing to businesses and entrepreneurs in the last year amounted to 4,881 million euros, with a significant role for MicroBank.

CaixaBank is "firmly committed" to the labour market insertion of people with difficulties in entering the labour market and actively collaborates with the dissemination of the 'la Caixa' Incorpora labour market insertion programme, in which 13,613 companies from all over Spain participated and generated 36,803 job opportunities.

Payment of taxes
CaixaBank paid a total of 2,633 million Euros into the public coffers in 2019, including direct taxes, indirect taxes, third party tax collection, Social Security payments and income tax deductions on staff. For the first time, the published report contains a specific section on 'Responsible Business', in which it analyses the aspects of financial activity that have the greatest social impact.

CaixaBank plays an "important role" in Socially Responsible Investment through VidaCaixa and CaixaBank Asset Management; and in environmental strategy, in 2019 it approved the Environmental Risk Management Policy and established the entity's Environmental Risk Management Committee and initiated a new 2019-2021 Environmental Management Plan.
The bank is "the first listed Spanish bank to offset 100% of its calculated CO2 emissions", something that was achieved in 2018 and has been achieved again in 2019, the year in which the bank has reduced its carbon footprint by 75%, according to the aforementioned report.

CaixaBank's branch network had 4,118 branches by the end of 2019, enabling the institution to have at least one office in every city with more than 10,000 inhabitants and in 94% of towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants, and it is "the only institution present in 229 Spanish towns".
In addition, during 2019 a total of 64 branches have eliminated architectural barriers and the percentage of accessible branches is already 93%, while 99% of the bank's ATMs are fully accessible and incorporate specific elements to help people with mobility and vision difficulties.
44.7 million in social work, allocated to local entity projects, a budget that has financed more than 10,600 actions, of which 3,825 have been in the areas of illness and disability; 2,487 in the area of interculturality and social exclusion; 1,971 in the fight against poverty, and 2,407 in other areas, with a total of 8,800 entities benefiting from this activity.
The solidarity crowdfunding promoted by the bank for customers and non-customers has raised over 140,000 euros to finance 40 social projects; participation in corporate volunteer activities, such as the Social Weeks; or the 'No child without a moustache' campaigns, in collaboration with the Food Bank; 'Tree of Dreams', in favour of children in vulnerable situations, or collaboration, through 'la Caixa', for the GAVI child vaccination, the Vaccine Alliance.