SODERCAN and Unicaja sign agreement to promote grants and guarantees

SODERCAN and Unicaja Banco have formalized a collaboration agreement to bring the public company’s grant lines closer to the Cantabrian business fabric and to provide beneficiary companies with bank guarantees that allow for the advance payment of up to 75% of the granted aid. The agreement, signed in Santander on August 10, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 160, dated August 20, 2026, by resolution of the CEO of SODERCAN, Ángel Pedraja Terán, dated August 14, 2026.

The publication is carried out in accordance with article 163.3 of Law 5/2018, of November 22, on the Legal Regime of the Government of the Administration and the Institutional Public Sector of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria, in its chapter V relating to agreements. The full text of the agreement appears in section 7.5 (Miscellaneous) of the gazette, with official reference CVE-2026-6581.

An agreement to bring aid closer to companies

SODERCAN, a commercial company majority-owned by the Government of Cantabria, has among its objectives to promote the creation and projection of companies, attract investments to the regional industrial sphere, and channel regional, state, and community funds through programs and grant lines. Throughout 2025, it has published and will continue to publish the bases and calls for its various aid lines in the gazette.

For its part, Unicaja Banco, a financial entity with a presence in Cantabria, commits to disseminating the collaboration with SODERCAN and the characteristics and conditions of its grant lines among its clients, using its network of offices spread across the territory of the Autonomous Community to facilitate access to the financial solutions demanded by companies.

Guarantees for the advance payment of aid

The agreement regulates the conditions of the guarantees that the financial entity may grant to beneficiary companies or freelancers to request the advance of up to 75% of the grant awarded by SODERCAN. The economic conditions of the guarantee are established in the agreement:

• First-demand bank guarantees, with indefinite validity and registered in the special registry of guarantees.
• Maximum annual cost of 2% of the guaranteed amount, as formalization and quarterly risk commissions.
• All costs associated with obtaining the guarantee are eligible up to a limit of 2% of the guaranteed amount.
• The effective application of these conditions is subject to validation by the entity’s internal committees, and they will not be in effect until October 2026.

The granting of any operation is always subject to the criteria of the financial institution, which may request as many additional real or personal guarantees as it deems appropriate and is not obliged to grant the operations presented under the agreement.

Validity and monitoring

The agreement enters into force on the date of its signing and has an initial validity of one year, tacitly extendable for annual periods up to a maximum of five years, unless written notice is given by either party at least three months in advance. To ensure its correct execution, a Monitoring Commission is created, composed of one representative from each party, which will meet at least once during the term of the agreement.

The signing of the agreement does not in itself entail any expense for the parties, who shall bear their own execution costs. The agreement was signed by Ángel Pedraja Terán, representing SODERCAN, and by José Marcos Fernández López, proxy for Unicaja Banco.

Relevance for the business fabric

This agreement reinforces the financing channel for Cantabrian companies and freelancers who access SODERCAN grants, by guaranteeing them predefined guarantee conditions and a limited cost to obtain the advance payment of their subsidies. The dissemination of the aid lines through the Unicaja office network expands the reach of public programs supporting innovation, development, and business growth in Cantabria.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 160, August 20, 2026, section 7.5 Miscellaneous, page 38877 (official reference: CVE-2026-6581).