Banco Sabadell is trying to return to its origins. The entity is preparing the transfer of its headquarters from Alicante to the city of Sabadell (Catalonia), a move that it hopes to approve soon in the board of directors, as confirmed by financial sources to La Información. The bank declines to comment. The decision is made in the midst of a public takeover bid (takeover bid) by BBVA and seven years after this forced displacement as a result of the political instability generated as a result of the 1-O referendum and the unilateral declaration of independence.
The plans of the group chaired by Josep Oliu come after the victory in the last elections of Salvador Illa (PSC), current president of the Generalitat, and a less climate of tension due to the independence ideology. The choice of Alicante was motivated by the fact that the Valencian Community is the second largest market for Sabadell after in 2011 – in the midst of the financial crisis – it acquired the assets of the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráno (CAM). The bank follows Cementos Molins, which at the end of last year confirmed its intention to return from Madrid, thus becoming the first listed company to take a step forward in this regard.
Throughout this period, Banco Sabadell has defended that its return would take place when the necessary conditions were met. The question is whether the entity can change the minds of other ‘exiled’ banks such as CaixaBank, currently based in Valencia. The former executive president, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, stated a few months ago that “the headquarters is in a balanced place” and, therefore, there are no reasons to move.
The possible return, advanced by ‘ABC’, acquires relevance as it is carried out in the midst of the takeover process by the aforementioned BBVA, an operation that has generated great rejection from Catalan society, including the regional government, as well as in Moncloa, since the who have expressed their refusal to the merger on repeated occasions, alleging competition reasons. It so happens that the central Executive is currently negotiating the General State Budgets (PGE) with its parliamentary partners, among which are Junts per Cataluña.
The absorption is seen in the region as a loss of weight within the economic map of Spain. But also for its role as an ‘SME bank’, one of its strengths. In fact, one of the reasons that has pushed the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) to move to the so-called ‘phase II’ of the takeover bid, which requires a more exhaustive analysis, is explained by the need to analyze in detail the effects it would have in terms of access to credit by the smaller productive fabric, especially among small and medium-sized Catalan companies.
The regulator has been studying all these factors in detail since last November, work that will be delayed until at least February. Under normal conditions it lasts three months without taking into account that the period stops every time you request more information. Carlos Torres, president of BBVA, has promised that the new resulting bank will have two headquarters: ‘La Vela’ in Madrid and the operational center of Sant Cugat del Vallès in Catalonia, from which they seek to promote Barcelona as a European ‘hub’ of innovation. However, this ‘promise’ has not completely resonated with minority shareholders and Catalan business associations, who question the potential of merging these two banks.
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