The president of CaixaBank, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, has presented his voluntary resignation as non-executive president of the financial entity, as reported by the bank in information reported by the newspaper ‘La Vanguardia’.
He does not immediately leave office. It will remain there until December 31. Starting in 2025, Tomás Muniesa, current vice president of the bank, will replace him. Executive functions will continue in the hands of Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of Caixabank. Muniesa is a member of the company’s history and is already a director of the entity in a proprietary capacity, representing CriteriaCaixa, the holding company of the La Caixa Banking Foundation, the first shareholder of CaixaBank because it controls 31.7% of the capital.
Caixabank explains that the board of directors has assessed the management carried out by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri as “enormously positive”, and has highlighted his “fundamental contribution to the exemplary and successful integration process of Bankia”. For his part, Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of CaixaBank, thanked “the great commitment and dedication of José Ignacio” and highlighted “the enormous professional and personal complicity that they have maintained during these years,” as explained in a statement.
Goirigolzarri has held an executive presidency, a position with decision-making power that raises doubts for the European Central Bank (ECB) because it concentrates executive and representation functions, which it prefers to fall on the position of CEO. This is common in Spanish banking. Santander and BBVA maintain this position of executive president, held by Ana Botín and Carlos Torres, respectively.
17% of Caixabank belongs to the State
Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri has held the position of executive president of CaixaBank since 2021, when the entity absorbed Bankia, where he had also held the position of president since 2012. The integration of both entities created the largest bank in the Spanish market.
17% of Caixabank’s shareholders are in the hands of the State through the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB). A participation that is likely to continue over time, despite the fact that the State would have to liquidate its participation at the end of 2025. However, that date can be extended to maximize the value of the participation and the dividends.
“Caixabank has appreciated 50% in the last year and 250% since the merger,” said the president of the FROB, Álvaro López Barceló, a few weeks ago during an appearance in the Congress of Deputies. “Divest [antes] “It would have meant lower income and less recovery of public aid.” Hence, the president of the FROB explained, the need to assess the upward potential of the share, the value of the entity, the absorption capacity of demand, the prospect of collecting dividends and the volatility of the market at all times.
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