CaixaBank, ‘Bank of the Year 2018’ in Spain by The Banker

• The Banker, a publication owned by the Financial Times Group, has highlighted the solvency and strength of CaixaBank, as well as its drive for excellence, its digital transformation and the innovation of its products and services.
• The magazine's panel of judges was in charge of rating the candidates and acknowledging the banks that significantly excel in their performance of overcoming the challenges faced by the sector.
• CaixaBank is the leader in retail banking in Spain, with a market share of 29.3%.

CaixaBank, the leading bank in Spain by market share, has been recognised as ‘Bank of the Year in Spain 2018’ by the British publication The Banker, part of the Financial Times Group. Being acknowledged as the best bank in Spain signals the highest point of the bank’s performance in 2018.

The Bank of The Year Awards ceremony by The Banker was held last night in London. These awards acknowledge the banks that excel in their performance of overcoming the challenges faced by the sector, such as digital transformation, growth capacity, commitment towards innovation, and the quality of the services offered to their customers. The magazine's panel of judges was entrusted with selecting the award-winning banks after assessing the candidates' strengths.

CaixaBank's Chairman, Jordi Gual, has expressed his satisfaction for this award, which “is another international acknowledgement of our commitment towards customer service and excellence with a resolute focus on digital transformation and innovation, over which our future growth heavily relies, as established in the 2019-2021 Strategic Plan.”

Furthermore, Gonzalo Gortázar, the bank's Chief Executive Officer, has highlighted that “CaixaBank continues to improve its profitability and strength as a result of the collective effort invested in providing a quality service.” Gortázar believes that “the key to CaixaBank's success is based on making sure our clients and our people always come first. Our clients inspire our people to strive for continuous improvement, and our people make our organization innovative, profitable and sustainable”.

Business growth and performance

The British publication has praised CaixaBank's growth capacity and successful performance throughout the year. CaixaBank remains the leader in retail banking in the Spanish financial market, with a market share of 29.3%, and approximately 14 million customers in the country. CaixaBank is the market leader when it comes to investment funds in Spain, with a share of 17%, and also in pension plans, with a share of 24.2%, at the end of the third quarter of 2018.

Supporting innovation and digital transformation

The bank views innovation as a strategic challenge and a hallmark of its culture. Within the scope of digital transformation, The Banker has welcomed the new Smart Money service, by means of which CaixaBank stands as the first Spanish bank to offer a digital advisory service in investments and to suggest investment portfolios according to customer risk profiles and objectives. Smart Money provides customers with tailored recommendations based on their objectives and risk tolerance; and it enables them to manage their investments via the digital platform.

The Banker has also welcomed the new model of ‘store’ branches implemented by CaixaBank in its latest Strategic Plan. The ‘store’ branches are indicative of the bank's commitment towards the quality of service, and they pay special attention to a personalised service and the customer experience. The new branches have longer opening hours than conventional branches: open Monday to Thursday (from 8:30 to 18:30) and Friday from 8:30 to 14:30.

 Wide range of products and services

In regard to services, the British publication has analysed the creation, in December 2017, of DayOne, a financial service that helps start-ups in their growth process. With branches in Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia, DayOne provides innovative companies with financial advice, tailor-made services and a programme of networking and training activities. The bank offers start-ups a line of credit of up to 250 million euros, and it will help foster networking between these companies and the group of domestic and international investors. This model relies on CaixaBank's powerful technological services, which provide customers with the possibility of managing their financial transactions at any given time through the website and mobile devices.

CaixaBank, a year of international acknowledgements

CaixaBank had already received this distinction by The Banker in 2013 and in 2016. In addition, CaixaBank has been named "Western Europe's Best Digital Bank" and "Best Private Bank in Spain" this year by the magazine Euromoney.

Meanwhile, the US publication Global Finance picked CaixaBank as the “Best Bank in Spain”, “Best Consumer Bank in the World” and “Best Consumer Digital Bank in Western Europe”.

In recent months, the bank has also received awards for its innovation work, such as the “Most Innovative Consumer Digital Bank in Western Europe” by Global Finance and the EFMA/Accenture “Innovation of the Month award” for imaginCafé.

Furthermore, CaixaBank's new mobile application was named the "Best Technology Project of the Year in the mobile category" by The Banker and the "Best Mobile Banking App in Western Europe for 2018" by Global Finance. It was also praised for its innovation in “Touchpoints and Connected Experiences” in the BAI Global Innovation Awards.

About The Banker

The Banker is a British publication owned by the Financial Times Group that has been providing global financial intelligence since 1926. It is the key source of data and analysis for the industry covering news in markets; banking, regulation and risk; and transactions and technology.

The Banker also organises other awards, such as the Best Technology Projects, which CaixaBank won this year for its new mobile application CaixaBank Now, and the Private Banking awards, alongside PWM magazine from the same group, in which CaixaBank Private Banking was named "Best Private Bank for use of Technology, Europe".