Caixa d’Enginyers has closed 2023 with a record profit of 19.7 million euros, increasing this result by 72% compared to the same period of the previous year.
In a press conference held this morning in Barcelona, ??the general director, Joan Cavallé, and the president, Félix Masjuan, have explained that the macroeconomic situation, inflation and the rise in interest rates have boosted the entity’s business.
The growth in the profitability of its service and interest margins has similarly boosted the gross margin, which stood at 99.5 million euros, an increase of 42% compared to the previous year.
This change of scenario, marked by the rise in interest rates to 4.5% after years of being negative, has caused a redistribution of Caixa d’Enginyers’ business. Specifically, the traditional business (credit investment and deposits) has contributed 31% of the group’s gross margin, compared to 21% the previous year. At the same time, asset management has remained stable and the insurance and payment methods division has reduced its weight in the business.
The change in outlook has also caused a slight drop in the entity’s business volume, of 2.9%, to 10,222 million euros, caused by the reduction in the business volume of the entity’s partners. In fact, managers have highlighted that credit investment has fallen for the first time in many years due to the rise in interest rates.
Specifically, the reduction in credit investment has been 7.4%, to 2,010 million euros. “The demand for financing has fallen both in the mortgage market in the individual channel and in the credit market in companies,” they noted during the meeting. Along the same lines, newly granted credits have fallen by 20% compared to 2022, to 450 million euros.
Regarding the number of members, the results reflect how it has grown slightly, 1.2%, to 175,000 active members. Those responsible for the entity have recognized the difficulties they have had in attracting new clients for some time. In any case, Cavallé has explained that this is the result of their commercial policies, which stand out from the competition by not offering great offers and betting on a value proposition that “humanizes finances.”
The entity has also increased its workforce by 5%, to 535 people, and has kept the number of bank branches stable. In total it has 33 and they are distributed in Catalonia and the rest of Spain. Looking to the future, the entity is studying some openings in Catalonia. In fact, it now also operates through three mobile offices in different locations in the territory that do not have bank offices and this campaign (co-financed with public resources) allows it to study new opportunities.
Looking ahead to 2024, the entity has warned of the global context of uncertainty and the influence of the European Central Bank’s policies marked by a progressive reduction in liquidity. Likewise, it has predicted weak demand for mortgage and business financing and has set itself the challenge of increasing customer acquisition by 9%.
