Cultural and social welfare work

Article 3 of Law 192/1964 of 24 December 1964, on the distribution of the Banco de España’s annual profits, states that “to determine the net profit of the Banco de España, general and administrative costs shall be deducted from gross profit, as shall the costs of social welfare projects, in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance”.

To implement 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 for providing intellectual, moral or physical activities 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 sociohumanitarian work and non-profit centres and establishments; and to work with the international organisations of which Spain is a member or which it supports.

In this line and with a view to stimulating education, the Banco de España also offers scholarships for 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 legal entities, public or private, of any kind.

The planning and provision of these costs will be the responsibility of the Executive Commission of the Banco de España, with the prior authorisation of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, once it exceeds one-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, 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.

Details of the support granted from the Social Welfare Project Fund in the last two years are provided below.