The return of Banco Sabadell to Catalonia It is already a reality. The board of directors of the entity, in an urgent and extraordinary session, has given its approval to move the headquarters from Alicante to Sabadell, thus making the reverse move that … carried out in 2017 by the process.
A political and economic earthquake that has been accelerated by ABC’s exclusive on Sabadell, which had been thinking about taking this path back for some time. Likewise, this occurs in full BBVA takeover bidwhich is also understood as a defensive movement in order to try to repel the Basque operation.
«The board of directors of Banco Sabadell has decided to establish the group’s registered office again in Sabadell, the city from which it took its name at the time of its foundation in 1881 and where it remained for 136 years, until it moved it to Alicante in 2017 due to exceptional circumstances,” the bank reported.
The council has considered that the moment is appropriate to return to the place of origin “now that the circumstances that motivated his transfer no longer exist” more than seven years ago, as the entity has stressed.
Sabadell was the first of the large companies to leave Catalonia in October 2017, and now it has been the first of them to return. At that time the entity, like Caixabank, suffered a strong flight of deposits from its clients. In the financial sector, in just a few months more than 32.5 billion euros disappeared from the autonomous community.
The institutional and confidence crisis due to the process was total. And Sabadell, like thousands of other companies, chose to leave. They chose Alicante to establish their headquarters and have remained there until now with excellent relations with the Valencian Executive.
Now, financial sources point out that the political and economic environment is radically different from that of the processes and that it is the ideal time to start returning. This coincides, on the one hand, with Salvador Illa occupying the seat of the Generalitat and, on the other, with the pressures of the independence movement, the Catalan employers’ association and the central government for the productive fabric to return to the region.
In fact, the pro-independence parties even threatened with sanctions against companies that left in 2017 due to the process and have not returned, a possibility that, in theory, is not legally possible. And it was not necessary to carry out those threats because Sabadell has already taken the road back, under enormous pressure.
BBVA takeover bid
The pressure on the bank, apart from politics for the stability of Catalonia, is due to BBVA’s takeover bid. The Basque bank launched the operation in May 2024 and it is still underway since the approval of the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC).
The takeover process still takes a long time. And in that context, Sabadell has decided to return to Catalonia. Financial sources point out that the return to its origins should provide a boost to be able to defend itself against BBVA, although other sources point out that the process is very difficult to stop.
Despite everything, regarding what is interpreted as a defensive move, BBVA sources show their respect for the decision. «It is a decision of Banco Sabadell that we respect. Regarding the takeover bid, it does not change the benefits of the operation in any way: it is good for Spain, for Catalonia and for the rest of the territories where Banco Sabadell is located, as well as for the clients, employees and shareholders of both banks,” the bank states. Basque.
Likewise, BBVA has always communicated its commitment to Catalonia if the takeover of Sabadell succeeds, maintaining an operational center there. A wink that they have tried to do from the beginning.
Commitment to the Valencian Community
In an attempt to try to calm the waters in the Valencian Community by returning the headquarters to Catalonia, “the board of directors has today reinforced the commitment to continue contributing to the economic and social development of Alicante and the entire Valencian Community. He has also stressed that this decision does not imply any change in the network of Community offices nor in the number or location of the professionals who work there,” as reported by the bank.
The entity has already approved moving the annual meeting of Advisory Councils to Alicante, as well as the Marine Sustainability Award given each year by the Banco Sabadell Foundation. Likewise, it promises to continue promoting support for SMEs, businesses and the self-employed through the activities of the Business Hub that the group has in Valencia.
In addition, the bank has the Alicante Technological Competence Center (CCTA), in which 300 of the entity’s professionals work and employs another 400 people indirectly.
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