Kutxabank prefers to retain “control and decision center” in Euskadi

The president of Kutxabank, Antón Arriola, has assured that the entity must “grow, little by little and without doing crazy things”, and emphasizes that it is “key to retain control and decision center in Euskadi.”

In an interview with El Correo, collected by Europa Press, Arriola defends that, if Kutxabank has been able to continue being a bank, it is “because it has been away from political influence and has been managed well.”

Likewise, and in reference to the remuneration for savings by financial entities, it recognizes that “Deposits are only remunerated when there is a need for liquidity.”. “There has been a lot of transfer to short-term funds that covered clients’ needs,” she adds.

On the other hand, he recognizes that delinquency is “minimal”, in such a way that, “even if there are difficulties, families and companies will be able to maintain themselves and there will be a soft landing.”

“Control is essential to avoid relocation of the decision center”

Questioned about the bank tax, he indicates that the economic impact this year, with the income statements that the banks have, is “assumable.” “The worst thing has been breaking legal security, the rules we had given ourselves. Banking already had a higher fiscal pressure than the vast majority of activity sectors and profitability today is good, but it has been very low in the last decade,” he added.

In reference to the options of going public and bringing in partners, Iñaki Arriola emphasizes that “control is essential to avoid the relocation of the decision center, which can lead to the disappearance of a tractor in our economy.”

“Even the disappearance of options so that our young people can aspire to well-paid jobs. The best way to guarantee that is to have the majority of the shares,” he argues.

“It is very important for the Basque Country to have a financial engine like Kutxabank”

Furthermore, he maintains that merger operations occur “when things go badly for someone” and now Kutxabank “is not exactly in that situation.” “We must grow but it is key to retain control and the decision center in Euskadi. “I think it’s the best for this society.”he argues.

In his opinion, it is “very important” for the Basque Country to have a “financial engine” like Kutxabank and that is why it is “important” to be “more present in the activity of companies, because they create wealth for society.”

Along these lines, it is committed to growing “little by little without doing crazy things” on the geographical side “in areas such as Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia and the Seville-Málaga axis. In activity segments, in insurance, where we have already had a very positive and especially in business activity”.