SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Feb. 9 (EUROPE PRESS) –
MicroBank, CaixaBank’s social bank, granted a total of 47 million euros to support projects with a social impact in the Canary Islands in 2021, a year in which the entity granted 6,566 loans on the islands.
In Spain as a whole, MicroBank ended 2021 with a record figure both in the number of operations carried out and in the volume of financing, placing special emphasis on financing families with difficulties in accessing credit.
In 2021, MicroBank allocated a total of 953 million euros to financing with a social impact in Spain, which represents an increase of 5.8% compared to the previous year, when it reached 900 million euros.
The entity exceeded 107,000 loans nationwide, which is 1.74% more than the previous year.
The segment of activity that has experienced the greatest growth in 2021 has been that related to the support of families with fewer resources, the entity reports in a note.
Specifically, MicroBank granted 86,859 microcredits to this group to meet specific needs last year, 28% more, for a total of 546 million euros, a figure that represents an increase of 46% compared to 2020.
In the Canary Islands, a total of 5,463 families accessed a MicroBank microcredit in 2021 for a total value of 30.5 million euros, 57.4% more.
This growth is explained, in part, by the recovery of consumption in 2021 by families after a previous year marked by the containment of spending as a result of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
In total, MicroBank’s financing aimed at families with difficulties in accessing credit represented 57% of the total global volume allocated by the entity in 2021.
“In a year still exceptionally marked by the pandemic, in 2021 we have continued to show our support for entrepreneurs and families with few resources to contribute to their recovery and support them in starting up new projects”, explains Juan Carlos Gallego, president of MicroBank, who adds that “the objective of the entity is to contribute to the creation of wealth and well-being in the territory”.
For her part, Cristina González Viu, General Director of MicroBank, points out that “MicroBank has been able to adapt its activity to the economic and social context and in 2021 has placed the emphasis on the needs of families, without forgetting financing for entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises or to the rest of the groups.
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Another of MicroBank’s large areas of activity, that relating to the granting of microcredits for the self-employed and micro-companies, was settled in 2021 with a total of 15,221 operations, a figure in line with 2019, although lower than that of 2020, when this This chapter grew atypically due to the high liquidity needs of numerous businesses, seriously affected by the restrictions of the pandemic.
In total, last year MicroBank allocated 195.88 million euros to support and consolidate business projects.
In the Canary Islands, MicroBank supported a total of 921 entrepreneurial, self-employed and micro-enterprise projects in 2021.
MicroBank’s specific lines for sectors with a social impact have contributed to materializing 5,142 projects in Spain in 2021 for a value of 210 million euros, compared to 154 million euros in the previous year.
Despite their recent creation, these lines aimed at social economy, education, entrepreneurship, innovation and health projects that generate a positive impact on society already account for 22% of the capital granted by the bank.
In the case of the archipelago, financing with social impact has helped promote 182 proposals for an amount of 5.78 million euros in 2021, which represents a growth of 17.6% compared to 2020.
