David Martínez, the maverick board member of Banc Sabadell, resigns as a proprietary director of the entity

BarcelonaThe Mexican investorDavid Martínez Guzmán,The third largest shareholder and largest individual shareholder of Banco Sabadell, with 3.86% of the capital, has resigned as a board member, the bank announced in a statement to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). In his letter, Martínez Guzmán stated that during his 12 years on the board of the Catalan bank, he had witnessed a transformation of the institution. He also expressed his deep gratitude for the resounding success achieved by the chairman and the bank's teams.

Martínez made this decision after the failure of BBVA's hostile takeover bid for Banc Sabadell, a decision that comes as no surprise, since the Mexican investor was the only board member who announced his intention to accept the offer from the Basque bank. In fact, after stating he would accept the takeover bid, Martínez went so far as to accuse him of having a secret agreement with BBVA or of trying to create a snowball effect among the other investors. The investor himself even published a statement in The Country to defend themselves against the accusations. In the article, titled "This is not a battle between Montagues and Capulets," referring to the rival families ofRomeo and JulietHe denounced the "incorrect interpretations, accusations, and baseless insinuations" to which he has been subjected as a board member of the Catalan financial institution. Martínez stated emphatically: "There is no agreement or conflict of interest between BBVA and me."

He also recalled that he has been a Sabadell shareholder since 2013 and has supported the bank through its most difficult times, such as the acquisition of the British bank TSB—which has now been sold to Santander—and during the pandemic. Furthermore, he pointed out that his investor profile "is far from short-term," alluding, without explicitly naming them, to statements made by Sabadell's chairman and CEO, Josep Oliu and César González-Bueno. "We even participated in the capital increase for the TSB acquisition, despite believing it lacked a strategic focus," he added.

12 years as an advisor

In 2013, Martínez invested €325 million in Sabadell's capital increase through the Fintech Advisory fund, an instrument specializing in investing in companies going through a difficult time and exiting once they have recovered. Jaime Gilinski, the fourth richest man in Colombia, also invested €325 million. If Jaume Guardiola sought out Martínez, Josep Oliu himself approached Gilinski. In total, they contributed €650 million to a capital increase of almost €1.4 billion. During these years, his approach has also been reflected in his relationship with Sabadell. Martínez has not been known for speaking at board meetings, nor has he attended all the general shareholders' meetings, unlike other board members, nor has he been involved in the day-to-day operations of the bank.