The ICO Group approved 10.265 billion euros in business financing in 2025, 13% more than in 2024

Financing activity results 2025

In 2025, the ICO Group approved 10.265 billion euros in business financing and investment operations, representing an increase of more than 13% compared to the 9.06 billion recorded in 2024. 

The ICO Group, using its own resources as a public financial entity, channels financing to give impetus to business activity and growth through different financial instruments: direct financing programmes, intermediated credit facilities with financial entities, and venture capital operations executed by AXIS (the ICO Group's venture capital subsidiary).

Financing to spur business growth

In 2025, the programmes that have shown the greatest dynamism are those in which ICO assumes and manages the operational risk: direct financing and venture capital. This orientation, outlined in the Addendum to the Strategic Plan—approved in October 2024—reinforces the role of ICO as an investment catalyst capable of supporting projects with long horizons, a technological component or investment in intangibles, thus complementing the financial sector and contributing to a more resilient and productive economy.

Through direct financing programmes, ICO approved 7.132 billion euros, 48% more than in 2024, to give impetus to business activity and infrastructure, housing and renewable energy projects. 

Furthermore, with the aim of expanding the scope of its direct financing operations, ICO launched its first 100% digital tool aimed at SMEs: “ICO Crecimiento (ICO Growth)”. The goal is to complement the financial sector, reaching companies that, due to their profile or the type of projects they undertake—innovation, investment in intangibles, etc.—find it more difficult to tap into financing. 

ICO Mediation Facilities, channelled through financial institutions, recorded a decline in activity in 2025, reflecting lower demand from the private banking channel in a context of low interest rates and abundant liquidity. Within the framework of these facilities, operations amounting to 2 billion euros, over 63% of which correspond to the ICO International Channel Facility.  This facility, intended to pave the way for the internationalisation of Spanish companies, aims to drive project financing through the intermediation of multilateral entities, local financial institutions and subsidiaries of Spanish banks.

AXIS, ICO's venture capital subsidiary, approved 1.133 billion euros in investment, which it channels both indirectly, through venture capital funds, and in direct co-investments with other private investors. 

In 2025, the operation of the ICO Global Fund was given a boost through an open call system that provides greater flexibility to drive the venture capital market, attract fund managers and private investment, and improve the ecosystem's capacity to channel financing towards innovative and growing companies. Furthermore, it is strengthening direct co-investment through the ICO Growth Fund in sectors with transformational potential and strategic relevance, always in collaboration with private investors.

Commitment to sustainability

As one of its strategic pillars, ICO continued working to strengthen its role as a promoter of sustainable projects, in accordance with the contents of its strategy, which establishes that 40% of all new financing during the reference period must be sustainable.

Of the total direct financing operations approved by ICO in 2025, over 49%—3.521 billion euros that will mobilise an investment of 20.403 billion euros—went to financing projects with a positive environmental or social impact. The largest volume of approved funding is concentrated in projects that contribute to mitigating climate change.

Leading issuer in the sustainable bond market

To conduct its corporate financing activity, ICO issues bonds in the capital markets. In 2025, ICO raised medium and long-term funds amounting to 8.656 billion euros. 

The highlights from the year were the two public transactions in sustainable format. Specifically, ICO launched its twelfth social bond issue and its seventh green bond, each for 500 million euros. Both transactions were very well received in the market by international investors, who acquired more than 87% of the social issue and 70% of the green bond.

With the two transactions carried out in 2025, the volume of sustainable debt issued by ICO stands at 9.55 billion euros.

ICO's results and financial strength

In 2025, ICO recorded a balance for the year (profit after tax) of 277.2 million euros, compared to 239.8 million euros in 2024, which translates into a 15.6% increase, maintaining its positive path of results that bolsters its capacity to fulfil its mission as a public development bank.

From a prudential standpoint, ICO closed the year with a solid position, with a solvency ratio of 22.85%, a delinquency rate of 3.98% and a coverage ratio of 128.42%. 

This financial profile allows ICO to face a new stage of activity and instruments in a good position, including the impetus associated with Spain Grows.

"Spain Grows" and ICO's Capacity Building

The year 2025 ended with a milestone that will mark the development of ICO in the coming years: the capital injection included in the Addendum to the Simplification of the Recovery Plan, amounting to 10.5 billion euros, along with a tranche of 2.8 billion euros that will provide for the incorporation of a bonus component in certain instruments. Together this will support the deployment of the "Spain Grows Fund".

This initiative will allow ICO to expand its capacity as a national development bank and mobilize large-scale productive investment in public-private collaboration, giving continuity to the transformational impetus from the Recovery Plan.

With the aim of ensuring an orderly and efficient start-up of this new stage, ICO has approved a new organisational structure, in force since February 2026, which strengthens its business units and the risk function. ICO is also making progress in expanding its technical capabilities, with the addition of specialised profiles in key activity areas, in order to guarantee the proper management, supervision and evolution of the public financing instruments entrusted to it.

State Financing Agency

In addition to its work as a bank, ICO manages the programmes entrusted to it as the State Financial Agency. In this role, it manages various official export and development funds, and instruments that contribute to ensuring the financial sustainability of autonomous communities and local governments. It also manages guarantee facilities, designed to enable access to financing for companies under the best possible conditions in situations of exceptional uncertainty.  Overall, in 2025 ICO managed a portfolio exceeding 260 billion euros in its role as the State Financial Agency.