Spain's largest lender, CaixaBank, recently opened a representative office in India at a time when the euro zone is battling crisis. Head of its international division, Ignacio Álvarez-Rendueles, tells Shaikh Zoaib Saleem the office would serve business clients from Spain who look to explore opportunities in India. Edited excerpts:
CaixaBank opened a representative office in India at a time when the euro zone is reeling under financial pressure. Any strategic importance attached to the move?
We had chalked our international strategy much before the crisis began. In our Strategic Plan 2007-2010, the group took the decision to grow internationally, not only with organic growth (representative offices and international branches), but also with investments in entities from growth markets in Asia, America, central and eastern Europe. So, our decision to open a representative office in India is in response to a strategic vision taken in 2007. India is the second country in the world by growth rates and offers business opportunities for our clients.
How do you plan to assist Spanish firms in targeting investments in India?
One of our main aims is to follow and support our corporate customers when they expand internationally. We provide banking services such as electronic payments and collections, letters of credit and issuance of all sorts of banking guarantees (bid, payment, performance bonds). We can also offer Spanish companies with investment projects in medium and long-term financing with export credit agencies coverage, such as buyers or suppliers credit facilities.
What are your expansion plans in India? Since you are a leading retail lender in Spain, do you plan to enter the same domain in India?
At the moment, we are focused on providing support to our corporate clients; we will grow with them. It will be a gradual process. We have to understand the market, and if the business perspectives and conditions are favourable, we will take the next step. But as of now, we would not go into retail banking. Also, we don't have plans to enter any other financial services like Life Insurance.
Your profit declined in Europe in the recent quarter. Will that impact your expansion plans?
Our international expansion is a strategic decision, and we will keep it. In spite of the decline in the last quarter, we showed a robust generation of recurring income. The profit attributed to CaixaBank Group during the first nine months of 2011, totalled ¤845 million, 16.6 per cent down from the same period in 2010.