Sabadell Bank It has presented record results corresponding to the year 2024. And, at the same time, the entity has taken the opportunity to defend against the BBVA OPA taking chest from its dividends and increasing them. He has not stayed there but at a press conference, … The CEO César González-Buenos, has also appealed to his shareholders to reject the operation using the dividend’s argument: “Our ability to distribute dividends is greater than that of BBVA.”
The bank, which has just returned to Catalonia, has in the dividends one of its main weapons so that its social capital decides not to integrate into BBVA once the OPA acceptance period is opened. The entity has decided to raise its compensation to the shareholder with charge to the results of 2024 and 2025 From the 2.9 billion announced last July to 3,300 million euros. «This figure is equivalent to distributing 61 cents per share in the whole of the two exercises. This compensation includes cash dividends by 20.44 cents per share with a charge to 2024 and an amount planned at least the same for each title by 2025, and also shares of shares to distribute the capital that exceeds 13%. This year, 1,002 million euros will dedicate to this purpose, upon approval by the Board of Shareholders, ”said the bank.
After paying eight cents in cash as a dividend on account last October, the entity plans to distribute to its shareholders a total of 53 cents per share in the next 13 months, equivalent to 22% of its current value in the stock exchange. This next March 28 will arrive the first cast with a complementary dividend of 12.44 cents of Euro Grutos per share with charge to the results of exercise 2024.
Even so, the OPA still has been traveled in time. The operation is pending the verdict of the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) in phase two and, after that, the Government may intervene to expand, maintain or reduce the conditions imposed by the CNMC. González-Well has revealed that they estimate that by June there could be the time of the exchange of OPA shares, that is, for that month the operation could be resolved.
Asked in general terms about its assessment that the Executive can intervene in corporate decisions, the CEO of Sabadell has been prone to the fact that public decisions can prevail over private ones. “The common good may be above the particular good,” he said.
González-Well has stressed that it is not correct to raise the situation in terms of liberalism against interventionism and that “there is a great economic theory” about how harmful monopolies and oligopolies are. «National mergers have a certain meaning to a certain point. That is why I agree with other banks when they say that there could be integrations. But this particular operation, by SMEs, we believe that it is possible that someone considers to be attentive against the common good, ”he added.
“The common good can be above the particular good,” said González-Well
González-Well has stood out, despite the fact that the Government It has been against the operation, that «the opposition to this OPA is not political, it is social. 79 associations have been presented to the CNMC. It is a social opposition based on the common good ». In his opinion, he believes that an integration in BBVA “would clearly harm the competition,” especially in the SME business.
In any case, the CEO of Sabadell believes that the operation will not go ahead and has indicated that “at this price this operation makes no sense because no one will exchange their actions to lose money.” It is referring to the fact that for a few weeks the premium of the operation is negative, so that if the shareholders decide to go to the OPA they would do it at a lower price than that of the price.
Later he has clarified that the OPA really “would not make sense at any price”, also taking into account that BBVA has repeated in many occasions that it will not increase its offer. “The intrinsic value of the bank is far superior to the offer that is on the table,” he said.
Change of headquarters
Likewise, González-Well has referred to a press conference to the change from headquarters from Alicante to Sabadell. A movement that the bank has justified it in which the conditions are no longer given in Catalonia that caused their march from the Autonomous Community. The CEO has recalled that Banco Santander has the headquarters in Santander, the BBVA in Bilbao and the Sabadell in Sabadell. “We had been thinking about this time,” he said, to add that his desire was to move away the decision of the moment in which the period of acceptance of the operation was produced so as not to generate noise.
The bank has also proven that the change of headquarters has not had any consequence at the commercial level: “zero impact.” And now, “we are where we should be.”
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