The Valencian Community is the region with the second highest debt per capita until the end of 2022, with 10,810 euros per inhabitant, behind Catalonia, which reaches 10,981 euros, tripling the debt level of the least indebted.
In relation to GDP, the Valencian Community (44.5%) is the most indebted region, followed by Castilla-La Mancha (33.7%) and Catalonia (33.5%), according to the report ‘Indebtedness of the Autonomous Communities ‘ published this Monday by BBVA Research.
The BBVA Research study is published in the middle of the debate on the regional debt, after Catalan independence parties proposed remission as a condition for investing the socialist candidate, Pedro Sánchez.
In this context, BBVA Research has announced that Catalonia is the community with the highest debt per capita at the end of last year and the third region with the highest debt relative to GDP.
In terms of debt per capita, after Catalonia are the Comunitat Valenciana (10,810 euros); Castilla-La Mancha (7,528.3); Murcia (7,450.6); Balearic Islands (7,529.5); Aragon (6,890.3); Cantabria (5,745.5); Castilla y León (5,605.7); Madrid (5,170); La Rioja (5,107.1); Basque Country (4,987.6); Extremadura (4,876.6); Navarra (4,796.2); Galicia (4,446.5); Andalusia (4,432.6); Asturias (4,199.4); Canary Islands (2,874).
In terms of regional GDP, the Valencian Community (44%), Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia (both 33%) and Murcia (32%) are the four most indebted communities. On the contrary, the communities with a lower ratio are Navarra, the Canary Islands, the Basque Country and Madrid, the latter three with a debt below 14% of their regional GDP.
The debt in the Valencian Community in relation to the GDP has gone from 41.9% in 2015 to 44.5% currently, while the evolution of the debt per capita has grown from 8,517.6 euros per inhabitant a year ago. eight years to the current 10,819.
Regarding the volume of the debt of each autonomy over the total, Catalonia (26.6%), the Valencian Community (17.4%) and Andalusia (11.9%) concentrate 56% of the autonomous debt.
According to BBVA, the instruments used by the autonomous communities to finance themselves have evolved depending on market conditions. Between 1995 and 2011, the issuance of securities gained weight.
In that period, on average, the issuance of securities represented 47% of total financing, compared to 53% of loans. However, the closure of the markets in 2012, caused by the financial crisis, and the entry into force of liquidity mechanisms, such as the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA), reduced the weight of these financing instruments.
The FLA is part of the mechanisms that the central government created in 2012 to provide liquidity to the autonomous communities at a time when the financial markets were closed. Currently, the FLA represents almost 59% of the regional debt, compared to 14% of the securities issued in the market.
Starting in 2020, some of the communities once again turned to financial institutions to raise financing and loans gained weight until they represented 27% of regional debt.
