Article 3 of Law 192/1964 of 24 December, on the application of the annual profits of Banco de España, rules that “in order to determine the net profit of Banco de España, general and administration costs will be deducted from the gross profit, as will the costs of social welfare projects, in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance”.
In drafting this regulation, the Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance approved the Order of 8 November 1993, which establishes that allocations for social welfare must be used to meet intellectual, moral or physical needs free of charge, and especially to promote research; to stimulate education, science, literature and the arts; to protect national historic, archaeological, artistic and cultural heritage; to assist humanitarian or social work, and non-profit centres and establishments; and to work with international organisations where Spain is a member or which it supports.
In this line and with a view to creating a stimulus for education, Banco de España also offers further studies abroad and in Spain, aimed at university graduates and students in the final year of their degree.
The funds allocated will not exceed one percent of the profit of each year, and may take the form of acquisitions, contributions, donations, awards, subsidies and aid of all kinds, to benefit individuals or corporations of any kind, which may be public or private.
The planning and provision of these costs will be the responsibility of the Executive Commission of Banco de España, with the prior authorisation of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, once it exceeds a third of the available limit.
The procedure for granting support out of the Social Welfare Project Fund, approved by the Executive Commission of the Banco de España, is governed by the following principles: alignment with the aims of the Social Welfare Project Fund; economic, social or cultural usefulness of the projects; transparency; academic, social or cultural standing of the recipients; and, in the case of support for economic research, competition.
This procedure is initiated either by the Banco de España itself or else by an application from the interested party, sent by post or submitted to the General Register of the Banco de España in person or, where applicable, submitted through the Electronic Register. The application should contain the identification data of the applicant, a detailed description of their aims and activities, and the object and purpose of the request.