Spain's Banco de España spends €1 million on massages and pilates under Escrivá

Escrivá spends nearly a million on massages and pilates for the Banco de España

The Banco de España, under the direction of former minister José Luis Escrivá, has put out to tender a €943,736 contract to provide physiotherapy massages and pilates classes to its employees over the next five years. The institution justifies it as part of its occupational risk prevention policy, as reported by THE OBJECTIVE. A figure that, in a context of the central bank's functions being scaled back trinc absorption by the ECB, raises more than a few eyebrows.

A luxury contract for an institution in retreat

Since the European Central Bank took over much of the Banco de España's remit, the institution has seen its real weight in monetary policy reduced. Yet its budget for workplace wellbeing does not appear to have suffered. The contract, with possible two-year extensions, amounts to nearly one million euros. For context: that money could pay several technicians' salaries or be invested in digitalisation. Instead, it goes to pilates sessions and massages.

The official justification – occupational risk prevention – sounds like a euphemism. Those who have visited the Banco de España's headquarters describe an always-crowded cafeteria, suggesting the working atmosphere is hardly stressful. The irony is not lost: some point out that public money is going on «vices» or on services no other public body would even consider.

Between criticism and defence of the spending

Reactions were not long in coming. On one side, there are those who argue that workplace wellbeing programmes reduce absenteeism and improve productivity, and that a central bank should look after its employees. On the other, most believe that, amid an inflation crisis and with the ECB setting the course, the Banco de España should set an example of austerity. The contract's duration – five years – has also been questioned: it looks like a long-term commitment that is hard to justify with current demand data.

And what about the economic context?

The spending comes at a time when interest rates remain high and households are tightening their belts. While the ECB maintains a restrictive policy, the Banco de España is spending on services that, for many, are superfluous. The inevitable question is whether this contract would pass the filter of any private company in lean times. The answer, judging by the public reaction, seems clear.

An uncomfortable precedent

If the Banco de España can justify nearly a million euros on massages and pilates, other public bodies might demand the same. The risk of a knock-on effect is real. Moreover, the transparency of the tender does not dispel the suspicion that public money is going on whims rather than real needs. Escrivá, who came to the post promising modernisation, now faces a controversy that smells of privilege.

The prediction, with reservations: the contract will go ahead with less media noise than expected, but the image of a central bank spending on luxuries while the real economy suffers will linger in the memory. And it will not be a good one.