“La Caixa” is now the third-ranking financial institution in Spain and the leading savings bank in Europe. It has over 10 million customers and, in terms of branch offices, is Spain's largest, with 5,200. Significantly, Community Projects is one of its most outstanding spheres of activity.

“La Caixa” Foundation is the number one private foundation in Spain, the second in Europe and the fifth in the world in terms of budget volume, with €500 million in the 2008 financial year (a 25% increase over the €400 million allotted in 2007).

The Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona, ”la Caixa”, a pension and savings bank, was founded more than a century ago with the purpose of bettering people’s lives. To this end, it focused on attending to people’s needs through two lines of action: on the one hand, by responding to citizens’ financial demands and, on the other, by helping to eradicate the most crippling social problems. Today “la Caixa” Foundation remains true to its core values and now, a century later, these are more relevant than ever.

Needy families, the elderly and vulnerable, young people, immigrants and those who live at risk of labour or social exclusion, are only some of the groups that benefit from the community action taken by “la Caixa”. Facilitating access to culture to public of all ages, helping young people obtain a good education, fostering research and protecting the environment are other major lines of action into which it channels its efforts.