"I celebrated the failure of the takeover bid as if it were a goal."

Sabadell"It's been a long time since I've received so many happy messages. Even if it was Christmas or my birthday," explains Joaquim, a lifelong Banc Sabadell shareholder. This Thursday, as the sun was setting and It was officially announced that BBVA's takeover bid for Sabadell had failed, Many Sabadell residents celebrated. "I'm really happy," said Maria, a retiree who admits she's gotten a little fed up with the TV and radio announcements. "I've never fully understood the takeover bid, but since we already lost Caixa de Sabadell, I don't want to lose the bank now," says the daughter of a former bank employee.

"It's hard to explain to someone who isn't from the city. I was really angry with the bank when, during the process, they moved the headquarters out of Catalonia, but now I find myself defending the takeover bid's failure as if my life depended on it," explains Oriol, a minority shareholder. "We from Sabadell are proud. We like to see the city's name. Yes, that takeover bid was like someone stealing something from us," adds Maria. "If Catalan businesses are sold to outsiders, I don't like it," reasons Oriol, who admits he's tried to follow the news about the case, although at times he's gotten a little lost: "I don't understand that much." That's not the only thing. Many people admit they saw their ads and didn't fully understand the case. Just like many people we asked about the takeover bid while walking through the center of the Vallès city, they admit they don't really know what the story is about.

But everyone who has followed the case has taken a stand against it in Sabadell. In the city, curious images have been seen, such as the association of small shareholders demonstrating in front of the bank's historic headquarters. People who don't usually demonstrate, but for once, very elegantly, stood in the middle of the city's egg to make it clear they wanted nothing to do with the takeover bid. In the city, especially in the center, the case was discussed in first-person conversation. Carlos Ventura, Sabadell's general manager, warned that if the takeover bid was successful, it might affect the city in the Vallès region, as funding for cultural or charitable projects would cease. Projects that continue to be carried out because the bank, despite having shareholders all over the world, has its roots in Sabadell. Ventura is from Sabadell, in fact. And so is the long-time president, Josep Oliu. So is Joan Llonch, the member of the Association of Minority Shareholders and former vice president of the bank. His grandfather, Joan Llonch, was president of a bank where the historic names of businessmen who made Sabadell an industrial powerhouse still appear among the local shareholders.

Today, Sabadell shareholders are a minority, but many families own shares that have sometimes become a kind of tradition, rather than an investment to make money. "Those of us who are from here, I think we all have a relative or acquaintance who works at the bank. We like the fact that the employees at the downtown offices still know you by name when they greet you. We know that everything moves very quickly, but knowing that our bank maintains a bit of roots... well, it's exciting, isn't it?" explains Salvador, 75. "I celebrated the failure of the takeover bid like a goal for Sabadell," adds Joaquim, who, in fact, boasts about having a special bank credit card with the crest and colors of the local club: "If the takeover bid had gone ahead, those details that make the city would have been lost."

Just 20 meters from the bank's historic headquarters, in Plaça Sant Roc, is the Town Hall. There was also a big celebration there, since, as Mayor Marta Farrés said: "Let's preserve a Banc Sabadell rooted in the city and the region, with all its services and its guaranteed social work." In fact, inside City Hall, there was a bit of joking around the fact that it had been a long time since a news story had generated such a consensus among municipal groups. Everyone was against the takeover, both left and right, pro-independence and not.