The Institut Català de Finances has increased its activity by 18% in 2025 and financed a total of 1,679 companies, organisations and individuals. Industry is the most financed sector with €327.4 million (35%), followed by trade and tourism (21%) and social housing (16%). During 2025, the entity granted 476 Emancipation Loans to young people aged 18 to 35 to facilitate the purchase of their first home. The public development bank allocated one out of every two euros in loans and guarantees to financing social and sustainable projects (50.2%).
The Institut Català de Finances (ICF) financed a total of 1,679 companies, organisations and individuals in 2025, for an amount of €1,000.4 million. In the year of its 40th anniversary, the public development bank of the Government of Catalonia increased its activity in loans, guarantees and venture capital investment by 18% compared to the previous year, reaching a record figure in direct activity.
“The 40th anniversary year has been a record-breaking year for the ICF, in which we have exceeded €1 billion in activity and launched the Emancipation Loans, which have been highly successful,” underlined the Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Chair of the ICF Governing Board, Juli Fernàndez. “Today, the ICF is a key financial instrument to achieve the Government’s objective of shared prosperity, that is, to ensure economic growth and that this prosperity reaches everyone,” he added.
“We are a bank for SMEs, we are a green bank and we are a social bank. In 2025, we focused our activity on offering credit to Catalan companies to boost their growth, transformation and competitiveness. In addition, we have promoted the energy transition and launched the Emancipation Loans,” noted the CEO of the ICF, Vanessa Servera. “We have a solid, balanced and solvent financial position to continue meeting the financing needs of the business and social fabric,” she stated.
The entity increases lending and guarantees by 15%
The ICF increased its activity in loans and guarantees by 15% in 2025. In total, financing operations reached €929.5 million, representing an increase of €118.3 million compared to 2024.
The public development bank allocated half of its financing in loans and guarantees to social and sustainable projects (50.2%), in line with its mission to provide credit for investments that drive the energy transition, social housing and the social economy in Catalonia. In total, financing for environmental, social and governance (ESG) projects reached €467 million.
In addition, the entity continued to strengthen its commitment to offering long-term financing to facilitate loan repayment for its clients. On average, loans granted by the ICF have a repayment term of 10 years.
Industry, the most financed sector with €327.4 million
Industry was the most financed sector with €327.4 million, representing approximately one in every three euros in loans and guarantees (35%), followed by trade and tourism (21%) and social housing (16%).
In terms of number of clients, however, the most financed sectors were housing (31%), coinciding with the launch of the Emancipation Loans, and the primary sector (26%), following the expansion of the ICF Agroliquidity Loans aimed at self-employed workers and businesses in the agricultural, agri-food, forestry and fisheries sectors.
Emancipation Loans facilitate the purchase of 476 homes in 2025
The main new development in 2025 was the launch of the Emancipation Loans to help young people aged 18 to 35 pay the down payment on their first home. The implementation of this initiative meant that, for the first time in its history, the ICF financed individuals.
The programme run by the ICF and the Catalan Housing Agency, in collaboration with participating financial institutions, enabled the purchase of 476 homes throughout 2025. During its first months in operation, a total of 738 young people purchased their first home with the support of the Emancipation Loans.
The average amount of the loans signed was €36,425, while the average price of the homes acquired stood at €189,549. In addition, the average age of those receiving an Emancipation Loan was 29.5 years.
As of 31 December 2025, of the 2,189 valid applications received by the ICF, 1,265 had been approved before the end of the year, 476 were under review, 139 had been rejected and 309 had been withdrawn by the applicants themselves.
Of the 1,265 approved applications, 789 were pending negotiation of the mortgage with one of the participating financial institutions or the scheduling of the signing date at the notary, while the remaining 476 correspond to loans already signed.
Likewise, in the field of housing, the ICF also financed the construction or acquisition of 1,163 social housing units in 2025. In total, since 2018, the entity has enabled 5,581 social and affordable rental homes in Catalonia by financing development and acquisition projects for protected housing, with a total of €517 million.
The public development bank strengthens its role across Catalonia
In territorial terms, the ICF’s activity stands above the economic weight of each vegueria, with the exception of Barcelona. This reflects the entity’s commitment to covering the financing needs of the business and social fabric in each county in order to boost the growth of the Catalan economy as a whole.
Specifically, the Barcelona vegueria, which represents around 68% of Catalonia’s GDP, accounted for 61% of the financing granted by the ICF in loans and guarantees in 2025, followed by the Comarques Gironines (9%), Camp de Tarragona (7%), Ponent (6%), Penedès (6%), Catalunya Central (6%), Terres de l’Ebre (3%) and, finally, Alt Pirineu i Aran (1%).
Venture capital investment doubles to €71 million
In the field of venture capital, the ICF invested a total of €71 million in 45 companies, representing an increase of 107% compared to the previous year.
2025 was marked by the presentation of the new venture capital strategy Catalunya Lidera and the creation of the Lidera Transferència en Salut fund, which will promote innovative projects in the health and life sciences sector emerging from Catalan universities and research centres. Likewise, the first investments of the Lidera Tecnologies Avançades fund, created as the FITA fund, were announced.
Venture capital activity was mainly concentrated in the industrial sector, which received six out of every ten euros invested (62%), followed by digital (18%), health sciences (13%) and services (7%). By type of fund, internal funds and the umbrella fund Catalunya Lidera accounted for 77% of the investment, while external funds represented 23% of venture capital activity in 2025.