“Having a new Catalan bank is fundamental”

Dr Xavier Palet became an entrepreneur at the age of 50 after a lifetime spent in healthcare management. He runs ICPA (International Care Patient Assistance), which assists foreign patients who need to use the Catalan health system. He managed the Juan XXIII Hospital in Tarragona and was the manager of the Hospital General de Catalunya. Now, he has decided to be one of the 148 promoters of 11Onze.

Why do you think a new Catalan bank is needed?

The “Catalan banks”, have betrayed us. They are no longer Catalan banks, we can no longer consider them. Having a new Catalan bank is fundamental. I think that sooner or later there has to be a Catalan public bank, 100%. But as long as this is not possible, let’s create a private one. We need it to be a bank free of the grasp of the Spanish deep-state. And 11Onze is this bank. It is essential that we create state structures.

Who do you think 11Onze should be aimed at?

Bearing in mind that more than 90% of Catalonia’s GDP is in the hands of the self-employed and small and medium-sized businesses, they must be a preferential client for 11Onze. But I also go further: why not have the Generalitat de Catalunya as a client? Or the Diputació? Or the city councils?

What do you think will be most appealing about the project?

That we want it to be a bank at the service of customers. A loyal bank, a faithful bank, a social bank, an ethical bank. That its sole purpose is not to make money. That all together we can build a much better and wholesome country towards independence. I think that the application, the tool that customers will be able to use to communicate with 11Onze and to be able to work, will also be surprising. I think it will make an important difference with the rest of the entities.

What do you think is your strength as an entrepreneur?

I am 66 years old. At 50, I decided that I had had enough of working for others and that maybe it was time to take the plunge, to take a risk, to start working for myself. And that’s how I set up my first consultancy, highly specialised in the world of health management, centred in economic aspects and above all with the economy management of hospitals for foreign patients. And I think that this has been my strength, knowing very well a very specific sector in a very underdeveloped market.