The public development bank closes a total of 158 financing operations for the vegueria for a total amount of 37.2 million euros. The data were released at the "Business Meeting with the ICF" held in Manresa, where the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alicia Romero Llano, closed the speech and the CEO of the ICF, Vanessa Servera, gave a presentation on public banking. The conference brought together nearly 200 representatives of companies, entities and economic agents in the territory.
The ICF has increased its loan and guarantee operations in Catalunya Central by 78% in 2024. In the last year, it has closed 158 financing operations, while in 2023 it made 89. Similarly, the number of customers of public promotional bank has also increased by 65% to 139, when in 2023 there were 84. In terms of amount, the financing provided to companies and entities in Catalunya Central has increased by 21% to 37.2 million euros, when in 2023 their activity in the vegueria reached 30.8 million.
The public financial institution has shared these data within the framework of the "Business Meeting with the ICF" organized by the public bank of the Government of Catalonia in Manresa this Wednesday and which has brought together nearly 200 representatives of companies, entities and economic agents of the territory.
The closing of the conference was given by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alicia Romero, who highlighted the work carried out by the ICF in its 40 years of existence and how it has contributed to "generating prosperity in Catalonia" through financing business projects for SMEs and the self-employed. "This is ultimately the objective of the ICF: for companies to grow, gain size and be able to compete globally."
For Romero, the role of the ICF "is not to compete with private bank, but to complement them" and to promote business projects in their initial stages and in strategic sectors for Catalonia such as technology, agri-food or energy, among others. "Public bank have to take a little more risks, be more courageous and help companies, financing their projects or entering their capital, with the will to remain and that together we can grow," he concluded.
The mayor of Manresa, Marc Aloy, has valued "the good work of the ICF during these 40 years to grow business projects in the territory" and has stressed the need for "all administrations to support the economic fabric and sustainable growth". In this sense, he has presented the projects of the consistory, with a global investment of 40 million euros to generate industrial land, with three new industrial estates, or with the commitment to training, through the two universities and, especially, the new project to generate a pole of knowledge and technology in the New Factory, promoted by the city council and the UPC.
For her part, the CEO of the ICF, Vanessa Servera i Planas, presented the bank's activity data in Catalunya Central. "We want to convey to the companies of Bages and Catalunya Central that, if you have important projects, from the ICF we are committed to doing everything possible to accompany you in your financing with very long-term loans. If the project can lead to very high growth, we can also enter the capital of your SME, and we do so without rushing to leave and favouring future buy-back by the entrepreneur. We want to be useful and agile. You just have to enter our website and apply for financing. It is very simple," he said in his speech.
Round table with companies from Bages
The conference included a round table with companies from Bages in which Manel López, general manager of Atrian Bakers; Montserrat Ambròs, from the Manresa Il·lumina Energy Community; Guillermo Fernández de Peñaranda, CEO of Airtificial Intelligent Robots and Josep Tarín, manager of Celler Mond Obert.
"One of the great challenges is sustainability, especially with the fossil fuel crisis and the rise in electricity costs. In this regard, we have implemented measures to reduce water and electricity consumption," said the CEO of Atrian Bakers. Montserrat Ambròs agreed with him when it came to stressing that "the energy transition is key for the country". "What we are doing with the ICF to promote a pioneering project we believe can be very useful to others," he added.
For his part, the manager of Celler Mond Obert explained that "competitiveness in the wine sector is enormous". "The sector is changing and innovation is entering very deeply, but there is still a lot of work to be done manually and it is difficult for us to find qualified workers," he said. "To be competitive we have to innovate constantly, we are a technology company and we have to work to always be at the highest level," said the CEO of Airtificial Intelligent Robots.