The Prodigious Box: A Remarkable Story

BarcelonaA “prodigious” story. It is the definition that the general director of the La Caixa Foundation, Josep Maria Coronas (Tarragona, 1959), has made the entity, during a dialogue maintained in the Economy Circle with the outgoing president, Jaume Guardiola. It is one of his first public actions since he held the post on January 1. This state lawyer, a disciple of his father, who was launched in the public and private sectors, has defended the social role of the Foundation. “There is increasing inequality and a middle class that is gradually being reduced. State transfers redistribute wealth, without which poverty would reach 50%, but they do not reach everything, and a foundation like La Caixa can provide a drop of water to reduce inequality.”

Coronas, who is also the secretary of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and the Criteria Board of Directors, the investment arm of the entity that feeds the Welfare Projects with the dividends of the portfolio of business stakes – the most important in Spain -, has attributed the network on which the group depends on a “genius” of the President, Isidre Fainé. CaixaBank is one of the main participants, along with Naturgy and Telefonica.

He has explained to an auditorium full of businessmen and executives that La Caixa maintains its founding goals of the early twentieth century, but which has “adapted” to the current world, “with an impact on society of extraordinary importance”. In fact, he emphasized that each euro contributed by a client of the group ends up multiplying by four. He recalled that of an origin based on helping old age, La Caixa has built one of the most important social works in the world. And it has been integrating more than 86 entities since 1904, including Caixa de Barcelona in the 90’s and Bankia four years ago.

This year, the provision for Welfare Projects is 655 million, with the aim of reaching an annual budget of 800 million by 2030, according to the strategic plan presented a few days ago. Although, he added, President Fainé – who also heads the World Institute of Savings and Retail Banks (WSBI), where he seeks to globalize the model of social work – aspires to make it “more”. Asked about social housing, Coronas has called for a favorable legal framework to create the conditions for entities such as La Caixa to enter this activity.

The new Strategic Plan is committed to a better coordination with Criteria, of which the CEO, Angel Simón, ceased a few weeks ago. Now, the President of Naturgy, Francisco Reynés, is the first vice president and has undergone investments carried out by the previous executive first. According to Coronas, “there must be constant synergies between the Foundation and Criteria, because they are two sides of the same coin.”