Banco Sabadell is convinced that BBVA will improve its offer "out of common sense."

BarcelonaDespite repeated refusals from BBVA, Banc Sabadell is convinced that the Basque-based bank will improve its offer for the bank in the takeover bid, the acceptance period for which began this Monday. The Catalan bank's CEO, César González-Bueno, insisted that the current offer will likely not be the last because, he asserts, it is insufficient.

During the 23rd annual Global Financial Services Conference organized by Barclays in New York, González-Bueno firmly stated: "This offer, from a common-sense perspective, suggests it cannot be the last. Because Sabadell's value is truly attractive." He also highlighted the performance of Sabadell's shares over the past four or five years, which "has been the best investment story in Europe, the best-performing banking stock on the Ibex 35, and we're not done yet."

The CEO recalled that Sabadell's board of directors had already rejected an offer sixteen months ago, which he said was better. In any case, he suggested waiting for the formal opinion that the board of directors must communicate before September 18. And he will have to review issues he has criticized. "Methodologically, for example, and this is quite surprising, they do not include the €2.5 billion in extraordinary dividends from the sale of TSB [the British subsidiary], which have not been reinvested in the calculation of earnings per share. Therefore, there are several elements that, in real time, the board will have to review," he said.

The association of small shareholders chaired by Jordi Casas, who has opposed the operation from the beginning, He also recommended waiting for the report from the board of directors. before making a decision.

This isn't the first time Sabadell has questioned the figures provided by BBVA and those included in the takeover bid prospectus, especially regarding the anticipated savings from the transaction. BBVA has raised these to 900 million euros when the merger can be completed, something that the Spanish government has prevented during the first three years, which could be as much as five, since a merger is unlikely to be completed immediately.

"It can't happen on day one, immediately afterward," he argued, while warning that the prospectus includes "objectively unrealistic aspects," such as savings of 100 million in financial synergies.