The Catalan Government today signed off on the appointment of Jordi Òliva Ritort as a member of the Supervisory Board and CEO of the Institut Català de Finances (ICF) with effect from 3 November 2021. Òliva takes over from the current CEO, Víctor Guardiola Flores, who has left the post voluntarily for personal reasons.

Jordi Òliva Ritort has spent most of his career in the banking industry, mainly at Deutsche Bank (1994-2010) and CaixaBank (2015-2021). At CaixaBank, he has been up until now Director of Institutional Business (including the public sector and organisations, foundations, political parties and trade unions) where he has led projects such as tailoring the business to the new needs arising from the pandemic. During his 16-year career at Deutsche Bank, Jordi Òliva was responsible for managing multinational subsidiaries, product development, the launch of electronic banking, derivatives sales and treasury management.

He also worked in government between 2011 and 2015 when he was Director General of Financial Policy, Insurance and Treasury of the Government of Catalonia. During this time, he was in charge of managing the Catalan Government’s finances and treasury together with financial supervision in issues within its remit including turning Catalan savings banks into banks and special foundations. He also held a seat on the ICF’s Supervisory Board. Òliva has additionally worked in the consultancy industry in banking and finance, telecommunications, public transport information systems and healthcare.

Jordi Cabrafiga, Chair of the ICF Supervisory Board and Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, praised ÒIiva’s track record: “He is a professional with extensive experience in the financial sector and in government and has the ability to carry on the ICF’s operations and maintain its high standing.”

Managing the ICF in 2021 and meeting strategic targets

Cabrafiga also thanked Víctor Guardiola for “the efficient management of the ICF under his leadership, which has enabled the institution to move forward constructively by providing financial support to numerous businesses hard hit by the pandemic and to the production sector in general.” He further acknowledged “his commitment to achieving the strategic targets set by the institution’s Supervisory Board.”

Meanwhile, Guardiola said he was grateful for “the backing of the entire ICF team in such a challenging period due to Covid-19 in order to grow the institution, support businesses and drive its transformation.” All this was in a 2021 shaped by lending operations designed to address Covid-19’s impact on Catalonia’s business community and by the rollout of a new all-inclusive IT system at the ICF as part of its digital transformation process.

Guardiola joined the ICF in early 2021 after many years spent in the banking industry, mainly at CaixaBank where he held a number of regional and sector management posts.

About the ICF

The Institut Català de Finances is Catalonia’s public financial institution. Its main mission is to foster funding for the business community in Catalonia in order to support the growth, innovation and sustainability of the Catalan economy. The ICF acts as a complement to the private sector by offering a wide range of financing solutions focusing on loans, guarantees and venture capital. Since 2014 it has been a member of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) which brings together most of the public banks and financial institutions operating in Europe.