Bank fraud: nullity of UCI mortgages

Provincial Courts, such as those of Cádiz, Zaragoza and Asturias, have condemned the Unión de Créditos Inmobiliarios (UCI), a finance company owned by Banco Santander, for breaching the rules of information transparency or declaring its system of capital amortisation null and void, with unaffordable repayments that have caused serious problems to many families.

During the years when the real estate bubble burst and amid a period of credit restrictions by the banks that have traditionally monopolised the largest shares of the mortgage market in Spain, Banco Santander was deriving high-risk mortgage loans from Unión de Créditos Inmobiliarios (UCI), its finance company, also owned by BNP Paribas.

These were mortgage loans that were unviable for most financial institutions because of the precarious economic situation of the customers requesting the loan, but which were approved by UCI. Faced with the need to buy a home or move house, thousands of young couples and families who had difficulty accessing a traditional mortgage loan opted for this alternative, which was presented to them as an attractive and affordable product. It is estimated that between 2009 and 2012, more than half a million mortgages of this type were marketed.

In most cases, these mortgages were marketed through real estate agencies that offered the management, negotiation and processing of mortgage loans with their real estate sales and purchase service. They acted as intermediaries for the UCI. Even so, the consumer only had contact with the UCI on the day of signing the contract in front of a notary, which is when he was faced with all the paperwork and small print.

An amortisation system with unaffordable repayments

As a general rule, Spanish banks’ mortgages are based on the French amortisation system, according to which the instalments you pay are constant or fixed and serve to pay part of the interest and part of the capital. During the first years of the mortgage, you pay more interest than capital, while in the last years almost all you pay is capital and the interest rate goes down.

Unlike these conventional mortgages, the principal repayment system of UCI mortgages establishes a very low fixed instalment during the initial period of the mortgage payment (between 5 and 10 years), but at an unusually high-interest rate, and the amount of interest that is not covered by the instalment is added to the capital of the loan. Therefore, debt continues to increase, generating new interest even if we keep up with the repayments. This is known in legal terms as anatocism and, in many cases, has generated exorbitant and unaffordable monthly repayments in the last years of the mortgage.

Although this is not an abusive practice per se and is included in the Commercial Code as legal, it is illegal and abusive for the consumer not to be informed of the economic scope of the clause. This is what has happened with these UCI mortgage loans when the applicable amortisation system was not even correctly specified in some of the mortgage contracts and many consumers were not informed diligently.

@atilalegal

UCI sabia lo que hacia y les dio igual llevar a miles de familias a la ruina con sus hipotecas. Ahora me enfrento a ellos y no pienso pararme en ningún punto del camino. Voy a llegar hasta el final y voy a pelear por TODO lo que les corresponde a mis clientes. Los bancos ya no salen impunes de esto. #uci #hipotecauci #hipoteca #psoe #pp #vox #prestamo #prestamohipotecario #usura #deuda #fondobuitre #bancos

♬ sonido original – Atila Legal – Atila Legal

The possibility of claiming IRPH

These mortgage loans used the Mortgage Loan Reference Index, better known as IRPH, as an alternative to EURIBOR for the calculation of interest on variable-rate mortgages. This value is obtained by calculating the average interest rate of the banks that grant mortgages on a monthly basis, which some courts consider may be abusive in its application.

After an in-depth analysis of users’ claims, on 13 July 2024, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) issued a ruling on the nullity of IRPH clauses, thus correcting the Supreme Court and establishing that customers have the possibility of claiming, but that the Spanish courts have to decide on each case individually, analysing whether certain standards of transparency were met when signing the mortgage contracts.

In other words, to be able to claim IRPH, judges have to check whether the clause in the contract has been drafted in a way that is understandable for the customer and whether it fits with the information the customer received from the bank before signing the contract. On the other hand, they assess whether the consumer was offered the possibility of contracting the loan referenced to EURIBOR, explaining the differences between one and the other.

@atilalegal

Declaran NULO el sistema de amortización de Uci. Aqui te explico porque siempre pagas más. Estamos preparando un paquete de miles de demandas contra Uci para que os devulevan todo vuestro dinero. Basta ya de usura! #hipoteca #prestamohipotecario #uci #bancos #prestamo #usura #psoe #pp #vox #dinero

♬ sonido original – Atila Legal – Atila Legal

An avalanche of consumer lawsuits

Although in the face of the claims of thousands of consumers affected by these mortgages, some Provincial Courts, such as those of Cádiz, Zaragoza and Asturias, had already ratified previous judgments of courts of first instance that condemned UCI for not having sufficiently explained the characteristics of these mortgages and for skipping the rules of informative transparency, declaring their amortisation system as null and void, the CJEU ruling opens the door to many more claims by affected consumers.

Thanks to this ruling of the Supreme Court, there is no specific deadline for claiming this abusive clause, since the claim can be filed at any time, even after the mortgage loan has been fully paid off. For this reason, some law firms have specialised in analysing these loans and determining whether the claim for abusive clauses is justified.

Once again, the banks will pay for having deceived their clients. Abusive practices have resulted in copious fines and penalties for these entities, as well as damage to their reputation, but which are periodically repeated in the face of a regulation and a sanctioning regime that continue to prove insufficient to guarantee consumer protection.

If you want to find out how to get returns on your savings with a social justice product, 11Onze recommends Litigation Funding.

Durant la Diada els catalans ens deixem endur pel romanticisme i els ídols de la resistència que van intentar preservar les llibertats. Casanova, Villarroel, Moragues, Carrasclet… però les guerres són una qüestió de diners i cal mirar-les amb fredor i autocrítica. Hi ha una colla de catalans que van optar per fer negoci amb l’invasor, essent així decisius per a la seva victòria.

Toni Mata. Director de continguts i mitjans d’11Onze.

Que les guerres les guanyen els diners és una cosa que se sap des de fa més de 2.400 anys. Ja ho va deixar escrit Tucídides parlant de les guerres del Peloponès. Però quan s’acosta l’11 de setembre els catalans tendim a treure la llista de greuges en lloc de posar-nos a pensar on la vam cagar. El cap del general Moragues exposat durant dotze anys en una gàbia, la brutalitat de la repressió, la resistència de Villarroel, la persistència de Carrasclet, el poble enterrant els traïdors fora muralles perquè “al Fossar de les Moreres no s’hi enterra cap traïdor”… Tot això està molt bé. Però qualsevol país que pretengui ser-ho s’ha de prendre una mica més seriosament a si mateix i deixar-se de romanços. Si l’any 1714 Catalunya va caure va ser perquè es va perdre una guerra i, si es va perdre va ser per molts factors. Un dels que va ser clau és el col·laboracionisme.

Qui es va fer ric amb la victòria de Felip V?

L’avenç de Felip V per Catalunya no hauria estat possible sense que una sèrie de catalans hi contribuïssin prioritzant el benefici econòmic individual per davant del país. Potser aquells ciutadans no tenien consciència de país, però qui sí que la tenia era l’exèrcit borbònic que, tal com explica l’historiador d’11Onze Oriol Garcia en aquest article, va mantenir el 65% de les seves tropes als Països Catalans durant anys per consolidar la invasió.

Efectivament, hi ha catalans que van decidir fer negoci amb els Borbons mentre aquests destruïen el país i les llibertats de tots. I es van fer rics! Es van fer rics subministrant aliments o tota mena de necessitats que tenia l’exèrcit invasor a mesura que avançava. Què hauria passat si aquests subministraments bàsics haguessin quedat tallats a la rereguarda? Felip V hauria pogut mantenir la contesa bèl·lica? Fa de mal dir, però és ben sabut que la flota naval austriacista (que comptava amb el suport català) era capaç de mantenir el subministrament de les seves tropes, però la borbònica no. Depenien del que poguessin comprar a terra ferma.

Per això, a 11Onze hem volgut demanar al nostre historiador que se submergís en els estudis sobre aquesta idea: quins catalans hi van guanyar amb la victòria de Felip V? És a dir, qui el va ajudar i se’n va beneficiar? I el resultat és espaordidor. Prop d’una trentena de famílies catalanes es van fer riques traint el seu propi país. Famílies que van obrir les portes a l’invasor i van ser convenientment recompensades amb contractes públics a partir de 1714. La nova elit catalana es va configurar durant la guerra de Successió. El poble intentava resistir, però alguns apostaven per intentar fer fortuna a costa d’entregar el país a l’enemic. Hem llistat els casos més rellevants, amb noms i cognoms, perquè més de 300 anys després siguem més conscients que mai que alguns catalans van tenir un paper clau en la derrota de Catalunya. 

Trencar la dependència

És el que en podríem anomenar, les paguetes de 1714, fent un símil amb la terminologia actual. La història és reiterativa i és imprescindible conèixer-la per detectar els errors que duen a les desgràcies. És possible defensar Catalunya i que el teu negoci o el de la teva família depengui directament dels ajuts espanyols de l’ICO? O el teu sou? La història diu que no. De la història sabem que és impossible parlar cara a cara o defensar-se d’algú de qui tens una dependència econòmica. I sabem que hi ha catalans capaços de vendre a Déu i a sa mare per un plat de llenties. La consciència nacional estava al segle XVIII (i potser ara?) en un segon terme, per a alguns.

En qualsevol cas, per començar a canviar les coses és ben clar que el primer que hem de fer és dir-nos la veritat. És un compromís que tenim a 11Onze. Per això hem volgut fer aquesta revisió històrica per poder-nos dir clarament: Catalunya no va ser derrotada el 1714 perquè fos abandonada pels anglesos. No tot és culpa d’algú altre. Catalunya va ser venuda per alguns catalans. 

Descobreix les famílies que es van enriquir amb la derrota de 1714 a 11Onze TV.

Maybe they do, but they’re not the ones we’ve been sold. When August arrives, social media fills up with paradise beaches, hotels with infinity pools, and dinners by the sea. Rest has become a consumer goal, almost a silent competition. But, in the middle of this race to experience the perfect summer, perhaps we should ask ourselves a much simpler question: are the best holidays really the most expensive ones?

From the right to rest to the business of leisure time

Holidays were born as a social achievement. They were a time to recover our strength, spend time with family, and break away from routine. For decades, many families spent the summer in their hometown, at the nearest beach, or simply enjoying the long days without major expenses.

Today, however, rest has become a global industry. The tourism sector competes to capture our attention long before summer arrives. Offers, algorithms and the images we consume every day create a very specific idea of what a real holiday should be: travelling far away, discovering new places, trying exclusive restaurants and returning home with a phone full of photographs.

Without even realising it, we have gone from planning a few days of rest to organising an experience that, quite often, seems designed more to be told than to be lived.

When the brain goes on holiday too

This change in mindset has consequences for our wallets. During the summer, we spend money differently. Not necessarily because we become less responsible, but because we change the way we value money.

Behavioural economics explains that, when we associate an expense with an emotional reward, we tend to downplay its cost. Expressions such as “since we’re already here”, “it’s only twenty euros”, or “holidays only come once a year” allow us to relax a budget that, during the rest of the year, we would manage much more carefully.

The imbalance usually does not come from a single extraordinary expense. It comes from the accumulation of many small purchases: having breakfast out every morning, an ice cream in the afternoon, an impromptu dinner, or an activity that was not originally planned.

Individually, they seem like insignificant amounts. Added up over two or three weeks, they can become a considerable bill.

Memories don’t come with a price tag

Curiously, when we remember a great holiday, we rarely think about what cost us the most money.

We tend to remember a conversation that lasted until the early hours of the morning, an impromptu excursion, a swim when there was still nobody on the beach, or a sunset shared with the people we love.

These are simple experiences that will hardly ever appear in an advertisement, yet they are the ones that tend to stay with us the longest. Their value does not depend on the budget, but on the time and attention we devote to them.

This also explains why more and more people are choosing a slower, closer and less consumption-driven way of travelling. It is not about giving up discovering the world, but about preventing the obsession with making the most of every minute from stopping us from truly resting.

The summer’s invisible bill

Holidays last a few weeks. Their financial consequences, however, sometimes last much longer.

September brings together expenses that many households know all too well: school supplies, extracurricular activities, postponed bills and the return to everyday life. If, on top of all this, we have spent beyond our means during the summer, the feeling of having rested quickly disappears.

Planning a little before leaving is still one of the best financial decisions we can make. It is not about imposing strict limits or turning holidays into an accounting exercise. It is about knowing how much we can afford to spend and setting aside part of our money for the return home.

This kind of planning does not reduce our freedom. On the contrary, it allows us to enjoy ourselves without the constant worry about what will happen when the next bank statement arrives.

The real luxury

We live surrounded by messages that equate happiness with consumption. During the summer as well. But rest cannot be bought, nor is it measured by the number of kilometres travelled or the price of a hotel.

The real luxury is being able to disconnect without pressure, spend time with the people we love and return home feeling that we have regained our energy. Doing so without compromising the balance of our finances turns holidays into a truly restorative experience.

Because summer passes quickly. Financial peace of mind, on the other hand, is a form of well-being that stays with us throughout the year.

11Onze is Catalonia’s fintech community. Open an account by downloading the El Canut app for Android or iOS. Join the revolution.

Europe is requiring major banks to submit plans to manage the risks of artificial intelligence. A new reality that reinforces the need for AI that is transparent, responsible, and customer-focused.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has asked the leading banks in the euro area to submit, before 31 October 2026, an action plan to identify, manage, and mitigate the risks arising from the use of artificial intelligence. This decision confirms a shift in paradigm: AI is no longer seen merely as a tool for improving efficiency, but as a technology that must meet the same standards of transparency, governance, and control as any other critical infrastructure within the financial system.

The supervisory authority believes that artificial intelligence is already part of the day-to-day operations of financial institutions and that its development must be accompanied by mechanisms that ensure customer security, human oversight, and the traceability of decisions.

Trust: the true value of AI

This new regulatory approach highlights that the debate is no longer about whether banks will use artificial intelligence, but about how they will use it.

For Isaac Sene, Chief AI Officer of SENSO, this is the key issue.

“Artificial intelligence is only valuable if it generates trust. Technology should help people make better decisions, not replace their judgement.”

According to Sene, AI applied to finance must be capable of explaining its recommendations, operating transparently, and always keeping the user at the centre.

“For years, we have talked about the potential of AI. Now the time has come to talk about responsibility. People need to understand why they receive a recommendation and always remain in control of their decisions.”

SENSO: AI designed to protect and optimise wealth

With this vision, 11Onze has partnered with SENSO, an artificial intelligence platform created to help clients better understand their wealth, identify optimisation opportunities, and make more informed financial decisions.

Far from replacing human advice, SENSO uses artificial intelligence to analyse each client’s financial position, identify opportunities for improvement, and provide personalised recommendations tailored to their objectives.

“The future of finance will not depend on who has the most powerful AI, but on who is able to use it most responsibly. Trust will be the defining factor in the years ahead,” concludes Isaac Sene.

What is SENSO?

Senso is an artificial intelligence platform developed to help clients manage their wealth more efficiently.

Its main features include:

• A comprehensive view of the client’s wealth.
• Intelligent analysis of the client’s financial situation.
• Personalised recommendations based on each user’s objectives.
• Identification of wealth optimisation opportunities.
• Monitoring of the tax implications of users’ transactions in accordance with Spanish tax regulations.
• Decision-support tools that always keep control in the client’s hands.

SENSO was created with a clear purpose: to put artificial intelligence at the service of people, enabling them to better understand their finances and manage their wealth with greater confidence.

Teachers’ demands go far beyond a labour dispute: they are a warning about the future of a society that risks turning knowledge into a privilege. When a society abandons public education, it abandons its future.

The teachers’ mobilisations that have taken place repeatedly in Catalonia over recent years are not merely a labour dispute. They are the symptom of a much deeper problem. When teachers call for fewer students per classroom, more support staff, less bureaucracy, fair salaries and the resources needed to make inclusive education possible, they are not simply speaking about their working conditions. They are warning that one of the fundamental pillars of any modern society is beginning to crack.

In Catalonia, teachers’ discontent has been expressed through strikes, demonstrations and mass protests. Their demands are clear: more funding, more professionals, greater psychological and social support, smaller class sizes and a reduced administrative burden. During a recent protest in Barcelona, teachers called for “social integration specialists and psychologists” before more screens, a phrase that perfectly captures the essence of the debate: the problem facing schools is not merely technological, it is human.

The question, therefore, is not whether teachers are right or wrong in a particular negotiation. The real question is whether a society can afford to ignore the professionals who witness, before anyone else, the consequences of inequality, poverty, family breakdown, precarious living conditions and the lack of public resources.

Investing in education is investing in prosperity 

Public education is probably the most profitable investment a country can make. No other public policy has such a powerful capacity to transform the economy, reduce inequality, improve collective well-being, increase productivity, strengthen democracy and foster critical thinking among citizens. Yet, paradoxically, it is too often treated as just another expense, a budget item to be adjusted whenever public finances come under pressure.

International data reveal a reality that is difficult to dispute. The countries that invest most heavily in public education are also those that consistently achieve the best results in social cohesion, innovation, institutional trust and democratic quality. According to World Bank data, Sweden devoted 7.3% of its GDP to education in 2022, while Denmark and Finland each allocated 6.4%. Spain stood at 4.6%, below the European Union average of 4.7%.

This difference is not merely a matter of accounting. It is political. For decades, the Nordic countries have understood education as a strategic infrastructure. Not as a welfare service, not as a social expense, and not as a showcase for educational reforms. They see it as the foundation of their model of society.

Finland is perhaps the most frequently cited example, but its success is often explained only superficially. It is not based on a magical formula, but on a very clear collective decision: ensuring that every public school can provide a high-quality education. The objective is not to create a handful of outstanding schools for a privileged minority, but to raise the overall standard of the system so that neither birthplace nor family income determines a child’s future.

This is the difference between a society that seeks to develop all of its talent and one that cultivates only the talent of those who already enjoy privilege.

When knowledge becomes a privilege again 

When education becomes commercialised, knowledge ceases to be a right and gradually becomes a product. And when that happens, opportunities begin to concentrate wherever wealth is already concentrated. Private education may present itself as an individual choice, but when the public system weakens, that “choice” ceases to be neutral. It becomes a silent mechanism of segregation.

There is no need to attack private education directly to recognise its risks. It is enough to observe what happens when public education loses quality: wealthier families seek alternatives, public schools absorb greater social complexity, educational inequality increases and social mobility stalls. The result is a society in which origin matters more than effort and where talent is conditioned by a family’s financial resources.

History constantly reminds us of this reality. For centuries, education was the preserve of the elites. Knowledge was a form of power and, precisely for that reason, it was kept beyond the reach of the majority. The great revolution brought about by public education systems was the breaking of that logic. For the first time, millions of people gained access to tools that had previously been reserved for a privileged minority: literacy, critical thinking, science, history, mathematics, culture and civic awareness.

Without this democratisation of knowledge, it would be impossible to understand the rise of the modern middle classes, Europe’s industrial development, scientific innovation or the consolidation of contemporary democracies. An educated society is far more difficult to manipulate. It reads more, asks more questions, verifies information more carefully and accepts fewer dogmas. This is why public education is not merely an educational institution. It is a democratic safeguard.

In the twenty-first century, this role has become even more important. Artificial intelligence, disinformation, political polarisation, the climate crisis, the transformation of labour markets and the growing complexity of the financial system demand citizens who are far better prepared than at any previous moment in history. And yet, we continue to debate whether greater investment in education is necessary.

The right question is not how much high-quality public education costs. The right question is how much it will cost us not to have it?

Because inadequate education does not immediately appear as a bill to be paid. Its consequences emerge years later in the form of low productivity, inequality, school failure, precarious employment, technological dependence, democratic disengagement and vulnerability to manipulation. Cuts to education always appear to be short-term savings, but they ultimately become long-term social debts.

The pending subject: training financially free citizens 

Defending public education does not mean denying the existence of other educational models. It means affirming a far more fundamental idea: no advanced society can build its future on a weak public education system. Private education may complement a system, but it cannot replace the equalising, democratic and socially cohesive role of a strong, well-funded and demanding public network.

And this defence of knowledge does not end at school. Quite the opposite. A truly advanced society is one that turns knowledge into a public good that remains accessible throughout life. Education does not end when a young person earns an academic degree. Technological, economic and social transformations require every citizen to continue learning if they wish to preserve their autonomy and their ability to make informed decisions.

In this context, there is one discipline that remains notably absent from most educational curricula: financial education. It is difficult to understand how a person can complete their entire educational journey without receiving solid training on how money works, the effects of inflation, the creation of debt, the mechanisms of saving or the protection of personal wealth.

This absence has very real consequences. Millions of people make economic decisions that will shape the course of their lives without possessing the knowledge required to fully understand what they sign, what they buy or what they invest in.

Ultimately, economic freedom does not begin with money. It begins with knowledge. And just as a strong public education system is essential for building a fairer society, a financially educated citizenry is essential for building a freer, more critical society that is less dependent on the interests of those who have traditionally concentrated economic power.

For this reason, when we defend education, we are not merely defending schools. We are defending people’s right to understand the world around them. Because only those who understand the rules of the game can truly aspire to change them.

This need for knowledge does not end in the classroom. In an increasingly complex society, understanding how money, inflation, debt and monetary systems work is also a form of freedom. Unfortunately, financial education remains one of the great unfinished tasks of our time.

At 11Onze, we believe that financial knowledge should form part of every citizen’s general culture. That is why, through La Plaça, we work to make these concepts accessible to our community in a rigorous and understandable way. If you would like to explore this perspective further, the series “Money” offers an essential journey through the mechanisms that have shaped the modern economy. Because knowledge remains the most powerful tool for building a society that is freer, more critical and more conscious of its future.

11Onze is the Fintech community of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the El Canut app for Android or iOS. Join the Revolution 

Have you ever had the feeling that you are wasting time while attending a meeting with your teammates and/or your boss? You are in the meeting, but are you thinking about other things? Can these sensations be avoided by making meetings more efficient? We try to explain how.

According to team building and leadership specialists, one of the essential issues is to be clear about why you are calling a meeting. Sometimes, we have the feeling that we are in that room, simply because you have been told to or because it’s on the calendar, without a defined objective.

Nowadays, and after everything that has happened in the last year, there are also those who distinguish between the organisation of face-to-face meetings and virtual meetings, given that the latter are not always easy to control, either because everyone is talking at the same time or because the attendees’ connections start to fail.

But in any case, the essential guidelines are the same:

1. Before convening a meeting, whether it is face-to-face or virtual, we must be clear about the objective: What do we want to achieve? Is it really necessary?
2. If possible, it should be planned with enough time to inform the interested parties, so that they can prepare for the meeting as well as the convenor, and so that the time is used to the maximum. Similarly, if necessary, it is advisable to provide attendees with the necessary documentation.
3. The invitation should only reach the essential people. There is no point in having 20 people attending if only 5 are really interested and/or affected. For the company, time is money, and it is not productive to have a lot of people as forced spectators.
4. Calculating the duration of the meeting is also important to avoid it taking longer than necessary, and obviously you have to be punctual in order to keep to the timetable. When calculating the duration of the meeting, we must think about setting aside time for requests and questions that can be asked at the end of the meeting.
5. The space where the meeting is held, in the case of face-to-face meetings, must be adequate for the number of people convened, and must have all the technological and analogue tools necessary to clearly set out all the issues to be discussed.
6. Once in the meeting, we have to assign the “role” that each of the attendees has to assume, if the interventions have to be marked. What is clear is that there must be a moderator, who will usually be the convenor, to avoid diluting the objective for which we are meeting.
7. For a correct development, before starting, the moderator must read the agenda in order to be clear about the issues to be discussed or resolved, and make clear the reason for the meeting. From this point onwards, he or she must ensure that the time allocated to each of the topics and speakers is respected, so that the established timetable is adhered to and everyone can make their points.
8. Once all the scheduled interventions have been completed, it is time for Q&A, in order to polish the topics dealt with, resolve any doubts that may have arisen, and decide whether any new contributions should be made before ending the session.
9. In the closing session, it is important to define the conclusions drawn, as well as the solutions to the problems that have arisen during the meeting, and the deadlines for carrying out the actions to be undertaken.
10. Finally, it is important to draw up a summary or a record of the minutes that includes everything that has been presented, interventions, conclusions, and even details the decisions that have been taken and the actions that must be carried out from now on.

The achievement of all these premises should guarantee effective and efficient internal meetings, meetings with suppliers and meetings with clients, so that we do not end up with a feeling of wasted time. It is especially important to make the most of time in order to achieve productivity and efficiency objectives that generate the economic benefits necessary for the survival of an organisation, thus guaranteeing the professional and personal stability of all those involved.

Do you want to be the first to receive the latest news about 11Onze? Click here to subscribe to our Telegram channel

Summer is a time when we can do things with the family, share and enjoy a few days’ holiday. The pandemic that kept us cooped up at home last year is subsiding, and many families are thinking of going on holiday for a few days.

Planning a holiday is a job to be done, especially if you are travelling with children. Finding a place that is suitable for them and, at the same time, pleasant for adults, is not an easy task. Not all tourist destinations are designed for children. Therefore, it is necessary to look for destinations that are prepared to welcome families, with spaces and activities designed for young and old alike. In fact, the tourism sector is increasingly specialising according to the needs of the client.

Catalonia is a country full of opportunities. A tourist destination par excellence, it has managed to diversify its offer. Family tourism is one and, nowadays, there is a wide range of proposals to suit all types of families: large families, single-parent families, families with one or two children… That is why, when choosing a destination, one must take into account, among other aspects, the budget, the tastes, and ages of the different members of the family, the duration, the distance, etc.

Choosing a place adapted to the needs of both children and adults is key. Catalonia has quality destinations that meet a series of requirements considered suitable for family tourism, to which the Catalan Tourism Agency awards the Family Tourism mark. This mark accredits them as destinations that provide a diversified offer of accommodation, catering, and leisure and entertainment establishments aimed at children.

Sea or mountain?

Specifically, there are 27 destinations that have the Family Tourism brand. These are divided into two groups: sea destinations and mountain destinations.

The seaside destinations have the Family Beach label. Nineteen municipalities on the coast have it. We find Pineda de Mar, Castelldefels, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Salou and Cambrils, among others. Lifeguard services, restaurants with children’s menus, activities on the sand, in the water, and a long etcetera, designed for young and old, help to make the time easier for everyone.

As for families who prefer mountain activities, there are 8 municipalities with the Nature and Mountain in family brand. Nature lovers will find a wide range of leisure activities on offer: educational centres, adventure sports, ski resorts open in the summer, etc.

In addition, in both sea and mountain destinations you will find accommodation prepared for families: hotels, campsites or flats that even offer a pushchair, cot, and baby seat service so that you don’t have to carry your own luggage; a nursery service; complementary activities; monitors; etc.

Travelling as a family is an opportunity that presents itself when we can enjoy a few days’ holiday. Planning them well and choosing a suitable place according to the age and tastes of the youngest members of the family will guarantee a successful stay.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

At 11Onze we have been suffering it for some time, and now nobody is safe. Banks pursue those who challenge the elites and attack them with the power they have to turn you into a pariah. Not even members of the International Criminal Court escape when the banking system condemns them. How will you protect yourself?

Speaking out against injustice once seemed like a moral obligation. Society was supposed to progress by embracing values that would make us better as individuals and as a community. But the truth is that the world does not work like that. The reality is that, if you dare to challenge the real big players, the banking system will make sure you become a nobody. An isolated person. Without bank accounts. Unable to pay by card. Unable to travel. Cut off from all the digital services you use every day. This practice of isolation, this financial death while still alive, is known as debanking, and anyone can become its victim.

The cases of the International Criminal Court

Few international institutions have dared to denounce the war crimes committed by Israel and the United States. The International Criminal Court (ICC) provides several examples.

Karim Khan, the Court’s former Chief Prosecutor, dared to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister over alleged war crimes committed in Gaza. The result? His bank accounts were blocked to the point that he could no longer transfer child support payments to his former wife. The restrictions went even further, extending to members of his own family.

The same happened to Reine Alapini-Gansou, a judge of the Pre-Trial Chamber responsible for authorising arrest warrants related to the events in Gaza.

And also to Kimberly Prost, for authorising the investigation into abuses committed by American soldiers in Afghanistan: her HSBC accounts were immediately frozen.

The list of ICC members subjected to pressure by a banking system serving those in power is long. But debanking has gone much further. It can happen to anyone.

The Canary UK and 11Onze

The independent media outlet The Canary has seen Lloyds Bank block its funds after more than ten years as a customer, withholding its money without providing any explanation. The publication is well known for its strongly anti-Zionist editorial stance.

11Onze has experienced repeated fund freezes and constant debanking by the Spanish banking sector, accompanied by strong international pressure. Within the organisation, we knew this could happen, and we were prepared to face it and move forward. But there is no denying that these measures have slowed the project down.

We remain strong and determined. However, we cannot move forward as quickly as we had planned.

The Banking Sector Has Chosen a Side

The banking sector has chosen a side. Money is being used as a weapon against ordinary people. In doing so, the industry betrays its very reason for existing: managing an essential asset that belongs to citizens who work honestly and simply try to build the best life they can. But that is no longer profitable. Greed has led banks to side with power. With those who can impose their will through force, crushing dissent. They have chosen the side of speculation. Of pain. Of immorality. Of evil.

The present belongs to debanking, and at 11Onze we have spent years warning about the helplessness of individuals in the face of the repressive machinery that private banking has chosen to become. We have experienced it with Banco Sabadell, Caixa d’Enginyers, Weavr, and several others. But in the not-too-distant future, the banking industry will discover that it has made a serious miscalculation. Because at no point in history have societies tolerated injustice forever. Sooner or later, people organise themselves, find alternatives, settle accounts and restore balance. We will be here, helping to build collective solutions to the abuses of the banking system.

For years, we have been told about inflation, financial crises, housing prices, or artificial intelligence. But there is a much deeper problem advancing slowly and almost silently: demography. There are fewer and fewer workers to support more and more retirees.

According to the latest projections from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), people over the age of 65 will go from representing 20.4% of the current population to more than 30% by the middle of the century. And this directly affects pensions, taxes, and the saving capacity of millions of people. The question is as simple as it is uncomfortable: who will pay for all of this?

A smaller working-age population means fewer social contributions, lower tax revenues, and greater pressure on a welfare state designed for a reality that no longer exists. The public pension system operates on a pay-as-you-go basis: today’s workers pay today’s pensions. But if the contributor base shrinks while spending on pensions, healthcare, and dependency care grows, the balance becomes increasingly fragile.

This is the problem that almost nobody wants to explain clearly. Either economic structures are reformed, or future generations will have to bear higher taxes, more debt, or less generous pensions. Demography makes no noise, but it shapes the future of every economy. And the longer it takes to address it, the higher the bill will be.

The Pyramid Has Turned Upside Down

For much of modern history, Western societies grew on a solid demographic foundation: each generation was larger than the one before it. This meant more workers, more consumers, and more taxpayers to sustain economic activity and public services.

This balance made it possible to finance pensions, universal healthcare, and public education under one very clear assumption: there would always be enough working-age people to pay the bill. But this reality is unraveling. Birth rates are falling, while life expectancy continues to rise.

The result is an increasingly inverted population pyramid. According to Eurostat, the fertility rate in the European Union stood at 1.38 children per woman in 2023, well below the 2.1 needed to ensure generational replacement. In Spain, the figure was 1.12 children per woman, one of the lowest in the European Union. Meanwhile, life expectancy continues to increase. Fewer children are being born, there will be fewer future workers, and the number of retirees continues to grow. The question is not whether this demographic shift will have consequences. The question is who will bear the cost of adaptation.

The Balance That Is Breaking

Many people believe that their social contributions are stored in a personal account to pay for their future retirement. But Spain’s public pension system operates mainly through a pay-as-you-go model: today’s workers finance today’s pensions.

This model is only sustainable as long as there are enough contributors for every pensioner. Decades ago, the ratio was much more favorable. Now, with fewer active workers and more retirees, the balance is weakening. In fact, the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) forecasts that pension spending will continue to rise over the coming decades as a consequence of the retirement of the baby boom generation. The question is unavoidable: how will all of this be paid for?

The pressure does not affect pensions alone. Population aging also increases healthcare expenditure, care services, and dependency-related costs. This forces public budgets to allocate ever more resources to growing structural spending, while the taxpayer base is not increasing at the same pace.

The risk is that younger generations will ultimately bear the burden through higher taxes, higher social contributions, or greater public debt. This may further reduce their ability to save, buy a home, and start a family. It is a vicious circle: lower birth rates create greater future fiscal pressure, and greater fiscal pressure makes it harder to have children.

Can Immigration Solve the Problem?

To maintain current benefits, governments may be forced to increase the tax burden on working-age generations. This means higher social security contributions, higher income taxes, or a greater indirect tax burden on consumption. In a context of strained wages and a high cost of living, this pressure may further reduce families’ ability to save.

The risk is obvious: a generation that pays more, accesses housing later, earns relatively stagnant wages, and faces growing expenses will have greater difficulty building a stable life project. And that includes starting a family. This is the vicious circle of demography: fewer births today mean fewer contributors tomorrow, and fewer contributors tomorrow mean greater fiscal pressure in the future.

Immigration can help offset part of this shortage of working-age population, but it is neither an automatic solution nor a sufficient one on its own. In fact, the INE’s own projections indicate that a significant share of the population growth expected over the coming decades will depend on migration flows. Even so, labor market integration, access to housing, and inclusion policies will remain decisive factors in ensuring that this contribution translates into a real improvement in demographic balance.

Demography is probably the most important economic issue of the 21st century. Not because it happens suddenly, but because it advances slowly while most people look the other way. Pensions, taxes, and the saving capacity of future generations will be determined long before the bill arrives. That is why understanding these changes is not only an economic matter but also a necessity for protecting our financial future, because making good decisions always begins with having good information.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

Finalitzem el recorregut cronològic que ens ha apropat a la història de la reivindicació del ‘jo femení’, a través de cinc dones que han marcat el curs de la història contemporània, escrita en femení i des de casa nostra. Segles d’història que han donat peu a petites i grans victòries per a la normalització d’un punt de vista basat en pures convencions socials que poc tenen a veure amb la naturalesa humana. Ara, el feminisme al segle XXI continua alçant la veu per una de les reivindicacions històriques més antigues: la igualtat entre dones i homes.

Mirar enrere ens serveix per a comprovar que, malgrat que la història ha estat escrita per homes, les dones han tingut un paper clau. En tots els àmbits i des de totes les lluites. Protagonistes a l’ombra de la història de la humanitat, on cada lluita i cada dret adquirit a favor del gènere femení s’ha debatut de nou més endavant. Una història circular que ens evoca constantment i independentment del país o del moment a un mateix punt: tot el camí recorregut ens ha permès avançar, en més o menys mesura, segons la societat i el prisma subjectiu amb el qual ho mirem. Un avenç, però, insuficient. La lluita no s’atura. La igualtat encara queda lluny per a les joves generacions.

La superioritat masculina i el #patriarcat

La superioritat moral (i res més que moral) entre sexes, ètnies, cultures o classes socials no fa més que evidenciar un afany de control que, lluny de ser natural, neix de construccions socials basades en el poder, sovint vinculat als diners o directament a la força física. Qualsevol raonament o comportament que neixi de la superioritat no podrà ser considerat just i, per tant, no hauria de ser considerat feminista. L’eternització de la lluita feminista ens evoca a múltiples conclusions. En posem una sobre la taula: per continuar avançant, els homes han de prendre partit.

La història ha estat escrita per l’home, el món ha estat liderat per l’home i inclús les religions són altament masculines. Podem parlar de progrés si encara comptem cada dona que per primera vegada accedeix a un lloc de poder? Si calen lleis per aconseguir paritat laboral? Si el cos de la dona, les decisions maternals o la forma de vestir es decideixen per homes arreu del món o si la violència masclista continua assassinant i violant a nenes, noies i dones al costat de casa nostra? Si tot això és el que constitueix el món actual en el qual vivim, canviar-ho ha de ser, sens dubte, una qüestió genèrica. No es pot redefinir el paper de la dona sense redefinir el de l’home. I tot recau en l’educació, que ha d’allunyar-se del patriarcat, el terme que defineix l’organització social dominada per homes.

#NotAllMen, però sí totes les dones

La meitat de la població encara viu sota l’estigma del sexe dèbil, sota el control del patriarcat i amb la certesa que, tot i no veure’s directament afectada una mateixa o les dones del meu entorn, mirant a banda i banda tothom té alguna història propera que evidencia tota la feina que queda per a fer. Al llarg de la història, el feminisme ha passat per diversos estadis que, seguint el context de cada moment, han implicat un tipus de lluita o altra, basada en ideals conservadors, liberals o reivindicatius. Són moltes les dones a les quals podríem posar cara i de les quals podem explicar la història. Algunes d’elles han fet grans avenços per a les dones, altres simplement van aplanar el camí amb idees, obres o obrint portes que fins aleshores restaven tancades.

El feminisme, entès com la recerca d’igualtat entre homes i dones, té tantes interpretacions, corrents o significats com persones en parlin. Interpretacions que varien segons l’educació rebuda, la tradició familiar o els comportaments que cadascú ha vist a casa seva. És comprensible, doncs, que apareguin pensaments com ara que les dones feministes són unes “exagerades”, que “no existeixen desigualtats avui en dia” o que la vida s’ha de viure “tal com s’ha fet tota la vida”, justificant que les tradicions, per més misògines que siguin, s’han de respectar abans que canviar-les per aconseguir paritat. Davant aquesta realitat, amb més èmfasi cal recalcar que el feminisme ha de partir del respecte, la base a partir de la qual s’aspirarà a la llibertat. Pot ser lliure qui viu amb la mirada posada en els altres?

De l’alliberament a la normalització sexual #lovewins

Són moltes les societats que han acceptat que l’orientació sexual no ha de ser motiu d’odi, i molt menys d’agressions o sentències legals. Es normalitza la llibertat sexual i es deixen enrere alguns estigmes vinculats a la sexualitat, especialment entre les generacions joves i en els països occidentals. Una desestigmatització que neix en la consciència sobre el propi cos, la llibertat de decisió, i el respecte cap a altres ideologies. També en la construcció de parelles proliferen corrents com el poliamor o les relacions obertes, que més enllà de l’anhel propi de qualsevol generació de joves per a descobrir-se, provar coses noves i viure experiències, també evidencia i atorga esperança davant un futur que es pronostica com a respectuós i de mentalitat oberta. Judicis morals, els mínims. Llibertat i respecte per sobre de tot.

Una vegada més, i lamentablement, no hi ha cap situació o context lliure d’agressions per part de persones que per sexe o orientació sexual se senten amb superioritat respecte a qui és diferent. L’orientació sexual encara és motiu d’agressions, i no s’aturen tampoc les relacions amoroses conservadores i amb rols de gènere marcats per la presència masculina. Tampoc s’aturen les relacions forçades, la violència física, mental i sexual cap a les dones, la sexualització del cos femení o el judici social i individual cap a les dones per gaudir d’una sexualitat plena i fonamentada amb la seva llibertat. Llibertat, però, que la societat s’esforça a remarcar que és limitada, sempre dins de cànons socials, estàndards i subjecte a múltiples crítiques als ulls del món. Potser per aquest motiu, perquè l’avenç mai és suficient ni generalitzat, la lluita feminista constantment comparteix espai amb la lluita d’altres minories o col·lectius en recerca de la llibertat que per naturalesa hauria de ser adjudicada.

La lluita serà compartida o no serà #MeToo

La realitat de moviments com el #MeToo corrobora que en el moment que una dona alça la veu per a fer una denúncia, n’apareixen milers al seu costat que han viscut el mateix i, sigui per desconeixement, per por, o pel sentiment de normalitat davant d’actituds que no haurien de ser-ho, han preferit callar durant anys. Això és perquè, quin tipus de normalitat pot ser viure en ple segle XXI, on prevalen uns minuts de satisfacció sexual d’un home davant la vida d’una dona? Són moltes les batalles guanyades, els avenços i els escenaris on s’està assolint la paritat. Són molts els homes que han estat educats i eduquen des d’aquest prisma del respecte, independentment del sexe o l’orientació sexual, i també cada vegada són més els joves que creixen sense l’estigma del patriarcat de base i les joves que identifiquen i denuncien qualsevol situació que va en contra de la seva llibertat.

De totes les coses positives que podríem llistar i sentir-nos orgulloses, principalment per respecte a totes les que han dedicat la seva vida a la causa i fins i tot l’han perdut, n’hi ha una que ressalta per damunt de totes: la lluita per la vida. En el moment que desaparegui la superioritat moral que sentencia vides a canvi d’ideals arreu del món, el feminisme podrà fer el pas definitiu per a començar a parlar de llibertat.

11Onze és la fintech comunitària de Catalunya. Obre un compte descarregant l’app El Canut per Android o iOS. Uneix-te a la revolució!