The Generalitat has awarded six financial entities the management of its treasury, which will grow this year to 2.5 billion euros. This amount is what the Generalitat uses as current money to meet its most immediate daily payments.
The contract was signed yesterday and for the first time six financial institutions are participating: CaixaBank, BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Banco Santander, Caixa d’Enginyers and Kutxabank. This last entity is added to the five that were already there last year, although Santander is the first time that it is in the most important batch.
The awarded entities will provide services to the Generalitat from July 2023 and for one year, extendable for another year. Sources from the Department of Economy of the Generalitat, headed by Natàlia Mas, pointed out that the 2023 competition confirms the growing interest of banking entities to work with the Generalitat. When the unified treasury started there were only two entities. “Having more banks will make it possible to increase credit lines and treasury loans to 2,500 million, as this is the maximum allowed.” In 2021, they were 2,149 million.
Although it is 2,500 million, the estimated volume of operations that is expected to be managed also increases and goes from 36,500 million in 2021 to 40,000 million in 2023.
The current contract includes the management of the treasury of 117 public entities (including the Generalitat). This system was created in 2007 when all the treasury of the Generalitat, which was previously scattered in the different bodies of the Catalan Administration, was unified in a single contract. With the new system, the Government ensured that the simplification of processes increases, the internal efficiency of the administration is improved, cash flows are available in real time, surpluses are optimized and financial expenses and treasury debt are reduced. The contract is divided into two lots.
In February, the Government approved asking the State for 5% less funding than last year through the FLA (Autonomous Liquidity Fund) because the deficit limit and repayments are a bit large. The Generalitat will ask for 11,822 million, which will keep the State as the main lender in view of the impossibility of going to the markets for financing. Of the total, 10,906 million will be used to face debt repayments.
