Change of stage at Criteria Caixa. The board of directors of the La Caixa group's holding company agreed yesterday to appoint Ángel Simón as the new CEO, replacing Marcelino Armenter. Isidro Fainé continues as the top official and president, who, as expected, has been re-elected for a new four-year term.
Ángel Simón will continue as president of the Agbar water management group, although he will leave executive functions and renounce his remuneration. He will also leave the position of vice president of the French group Veolia, the owner of Agbar. It remains to be seen now who will assume the position of chief executive of the Spanish company.
Simón's entry is a strategic move for Criteria, which faces several major challenges, including the shareholding changes in Naturgy and Telefónica, and the sale of Saba, which has been entrenched for some time.
Armenter, Fainé's trusted man for many years, renewed as director and chief executive of Criteria less than a year ago. Since 2019 he has served as CEO, although since 2013 he was general director, a position in which he replaced Gonzalo Gortázar, currently CEO of CaixaBank.
At yesterday's board meeting it was also agreed to propose the appointment of the notary Juan José López Burniol as first vice president of Criteria. López Burniol, until now a member of the Criteria board, also holds the position of vice president of the La Caixa Foundation, an entity also chaired by Isidro Fainé. Javier Godó, Count of Godó, editor of La Vanguardia, continues as second vice president.
Another of the agreements adopted was the renewal as directors of José Antonio Asiaín, Marcos Contreras, Jean-Louis Chaussade, Isabel Estapé, Josep-Delfí Guardia and Francesc Homs.
Armenter's dismissal will be effective on January 31, although the appointments will not take place until February 15, when they are ratified by the Board of Trustees of the La Caixa Foundation. “We are opening a new stage and giving new impetus to the Criteria Caixa project, with the aim of securing the economic resources that the La Caixa Foundation will need in the coming years to carry out its social work,” Fainé highlighted in a statement. He also highlighted the increase in the budget of the La Caixa Foundation, which this year will reach 600 million euros, which represents an increase of 12% compared to 2023 and the highest figure in history.
“The approval of a budget of 600 million for 2024 represents a very important step in the history of the entity,” insisted Fainé, who added that “in a highly complex world, with increasing levels of inequality, the La Caixa Foundation maintains its commitment to social and human development, especially that of the most vulnerable people.”
It is the largest foundation in Spain and one of the first in Europe. In the last 15 years, it has allocated some 7,000 million euros to social, scientific, educational and cultural initiatives to contribute to a society that gives more opportunities to those who need it most, as the entity recalled yesterday. Of the total investment planned in 2024, 58.7%, more than 350 million, will be allocated to the development of social programs. The investment allocated to this type of programs will grow by more than 10% compared to the previous year.
The increase in the budget has been possible thanks to the increase in dividends from its large investees, particularly CaixaBank and Naturgy, in line with the improvement in results.
The gross market valuation of Criteria's shares is 26.4 billion, according to the calculations included in the statement made public yesterday by the La Caixa Foundation. The largest holdings are 32.2% of CaixaBank, 26.7% of Naturgy, 9.1% of Grupo Financiero Inbursa, 19% of Bank of East Asia, 4.3% of Cellnex and 2. 55% of Telefónica.
In Telefónica, CaixaBank also has another 3.5% in addition to that of Criteria. CaixaBank once had more than 5%, but has been reducing its percentage in accordance with the instructions of the European Central Bank (ECB), contrary to banks having industrial participations. And as CaixaBank reduced, Criteria has increased its weight in Telefónica. When the State Company for Industrial Participations (SEPI) executes the purchase of 10% of the telecommunications company, there will be two companies in which Criteria will share a shareholding with the State, after CaixaBank.
