Castilla y León closed the second quarter of 2024 with a debt of 13,846 million euros, according to data from the Bank of Spain released today, which is equivalent to 18.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This ratio is 3.1 percentage points lower than the regional average, which is 21.9%, thus widening its gap compared to the last quarter.
The contribution of Castilla y León to the overall debt of the Spanish Autonomies is reduced, according to data provided this morning by the regulatory body. Concretely, at the end of the second quarter of 2024 It represented 4.1% of the total communities, recorded at 337,474 million euros.
As of June 30, 2024, Castilla y León had liabilities of 13,846 million euros. This amount represents 18.8% of its Gross Domestic Product, which represents a drop over one year of almost one point percentage (0.8%). In addition, this ratio widens its gap compared to the regional average (21.9%), being lower by 3.1 percentage points.
In calculating the volume of regional debt, the banking controller includes the repayable loans that the Community Administration grants to businesses, amounting to 214.8 million euros. Also included is so-called “non-recourse factoring.” –commercial credits from the Administration allocated to financial entities–, which add 115.8 million euros, as well as the debt associated with public-private collaboration projects for 246.1 million euros.
The analysis of the structure of Castilla y León’s debt portfolio under the terms of the ESA 2010 (European System of Accounts), taking into account the identity of the lenders, reveals that as of June 30, 2024, the largest amount corresponds to public debt issues which represent 21.3%, with 2,950 million euros. In second position is the Financial Facility Fund, with 1,774.2 million euros, or 12.8%, corresponding to loans granted during the years 2015 and 2020.
Among the lenders affected are also multilateral financial entities, such as the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank, with 1,325.2 million euros, or around 10% of the debt of the Community.
On the other hand, 95.9% of the Castilian and Leonese debt corresponded to the General Administration, compared to 4.1% of universities, autonomous bodies, public entities under private law and public companies, among others.
Regarding expiration dates, 98.2% of the Community’s outstanding debt is formalized in the long term against 1.8% signed short, which minimizes refinancing risks. Likewise, 70.8% are at a fixed rate and 29.2% at a variable rate, a distribution which helps to mitigate the effect of increases in the Euribor and is entirely subscribed in euros.
This moderate level of debt is one of the aspects that the Moody’s agency valued favorably in its decision last March to improve the financial profile of the Community by raising the Baa1 rating with a positive outlook, thus ratifying the same rating as the kingdom of the Community. Spain.
No debt of non-sectoralized public companies
Finally, it should be noted that the Bank of Spain also counts at 4,087 million euros the debt of regional public companies that are not included in the SEC 2010 perimeter, without Castilla y León having been allocated an additional amount . In this way, taking into account data from the entire regional public sector, the average debt/GDP ratio would increase at the end of the second quarter of 2024 to 22.2%, compared to 18.8% in Castile and León.
