Madrid, 27 July 2022. Today, the Board of Directors of COFIDES approved the 2022-2004 Strategic Plan, which defines the company's goals and lines of action for the coming years. The main goal of this new Strategic Plan is make COFIDES the leading "green entity" in Spanish finance thanks to the company's experience, its track record in sustainability, and the integration of ESG criteria into its activity.

INCREASE IN MANAGED PORTFOLIO

COFIDES strengthens its position as a third-party fund manager and expects the total portfolio under management to be over €2.1 billion by the end of the strategic plan. This represents an increase of around 65% as a result of the deployment of FONREC resources, the evolution of the internationalisation business, and measures to encourage “green” projects. Among others, the identification of opportunities with sovereign wealth funds from other countries will be promoted in order to study the possibility of creating new investment vehicles.

Chairman of COFIDES, José Luis Curbelo, indicated that “COFIDES is making a firm commitment to sustainability. We are not content with maintaining compliance with ESG standards, but aspire to contribute towards climate-related policies that foster a true impact on society.” Therefore, “we intend to consolidate sustainability as a corporate value that permeates throughout all of our business.”

COFIDES IMPACT

COFIDES is to develop the COFIDES Impact programme, funded as part of the EU Next Generation initiative, during the new Strategic Plan. This is a new programme that involves introducing sustainability in a structural manner into the price of transactions, introducing discounts linked to the meeting of sustainability objectives into the price of financing, and co-financing the technical assistance required to meet agreed goals.

GREEN STRATEGY

In its aim to strengthen its commitment to greater alignment with the Paris agreement, COFIDES also intends to measure the carbon footprint of the company’s operations, the operations it finances, and the aggregate portfolio in order to calculate total emissions, manage risks, and identify business opportunities.

The company also sets a strategic goal of ensuring 30% of all new projects supporting the internationalisation of Spanish companies during the 2022-2024 period are "green". “This involves taking steps to get closer in the near future to the goal of having a carbon-neutral portfolio, which is a portfolio with net emissions that are equal to zero,” says Rodrigo Madrazo, director-general of COFIDES.

STRENGTHENING DEVELOPMENT FUNDING

In addition to the €2.1 billion portfolio under management, COFIDES is to strengthen its relationship with AECID in order to maintain the company’s role in the new Financial Cooperation framework. It also aspires to be a leading player in EU cooperation and the UN Green Climate Fund by presenting 5 new programmes seeking an investment of around €500 million, primarily focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.   

FONREC: MONITORING AND DIVESTMENTS

Following the end of the investment period of the Recapitalisation Fund for companies affected by COVID-19 (FONREC), COFIDES intends to conduct efficient portfolio management, monitoring projects, analysing divestment opportunities, and always seeking the utmost return on the invested funds.

“All this will be possible by searching for strategic partnerships that contribute towards business development and taking on these future challenges that reinforce the efficient and reliable management of managed funds”, concluded the COFIDES chairman.

ABOUT COFIDES

COFIDES, a State-owned company engaging in the management of State and third-party as well as its own funds, pursues a number of aims: internationalisation of Spain’s economy, furtherance of economic development and fortification of the solvency of companies affected by COVID-19. In addition to the Spanish State, its shareholders include Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Sabadell and Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).