80% of IBEX 35 stock index companies operate through tax havens

SPAIN (GibChronicle) A recent report by the Spanish observatory on Corporate Social Responsibility (Observatorio de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa) reveals that nearly all companies listed on the Spanish stock exchange operate through offshore centres. The report highlights that more than 80% of companies that are part of the benchmark stock market index (IBEX 35) in the Madrid stock exchange (Bolsa de Madrid) operate through tax havens. The remaining companies either have shareholders that are based in or have shares in tax havens. The so called "secrecy jurisdictions" with the highest concentration of Spanish company subsidiaries are the Netherlands, Delaware, Luxembourg (photo), Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Puerto Rico and Panama.

La Caixa prepares to become a bank

SPAIN/BARCELONA You may not have noticed, but La Caixa is not (yet) a bank proper. It is the largest building society in Spain, however, and it is preparing to become a fully fledged bank. The board of the Barcelona-based finanial institution announced today that it and its affiliate Criteria are studying the group's reorganization, which would include passing its banking business to Criteria and other divisionary measures. Criteria Caixa Corporation announced the possible restructuring in a note to the Stock Exchange Commission, which suspended trade in various associated stock "as a preventative measure,"`according to a press release from Madrid.