The parliamentary groups Elkarrekin-Podemos and EH Bildu have tabled a motion this Thursday in the Basque Parliament calling for the Basque Institute of Finance to become a bank. This public bank would allow strategic companies to "capitalize properly" and limit the way to vulture funds, according to these groups. In this regard, they have taken into account what happened in the debate in Vitoria-Gasteiz with the privatization of Euskaltel.

The objective would be to guarantee the territorial roots of these companies, closing the doors to speculative capital, for which this bank would buy shares in these companies. The motion calls on the Basque Government to put an end to the policy of recent years, "i.e. divestment of strategic assets". In the same vein, the text states that Kutxabank should follow the "starting spirit" of the Spanish savings banks.

The initiative was not successful, as PNV, PSE-EE and pp+Cs voted against it. The first two members of the Basque Government have argued that there are sufficient financial instruments to support strategic companies in the CAPV, such as the Basque Institute of Finance and the public management society of the recently created Finkatuz programme (pdf). The latter, "Capital Consolidation Finkatuz, S.A.", has been endowed with a capital of 160 million euros. Through it, the parties of the Basque Government see the opportunity to meet the needs of companies and create "an ecosystem of competitiveness for development".

As for the consolidation management company, EH spokesman Bildu, Iker Casanova, has denounced that such investments have not yet been made. Opposition groups have also called in Vitoria-Gasteiz for the activation of this fund "with transparency and dialogue" with social and political players.