BarcelonaThe Spanish government will have to decide on BBVA's hostile takeover bid for Banco Sabadell after the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) gave the green light, with conditions, to the operation on Wednesday night, despite seeing some risks. Specifically, a member of the Spanish government, Second Vice President and Minister of Labor Yolanda Díaz, has already said that Pedro Sánchez's administration should halt the operation.
Díaz has warned that the takeover bid is "very bad news" and added that "economic democracy is losing." "We never talk about it, but it is the most important thing, along with human rights," she asserted. In an interview on Spanish TVE's La 1 channel, Díaz stated that the Spanish government "has the final say" and urged it to halt the operation. The vice president of the Spanish government described it as a "major mistake" to push through the takeover bid against the opposition of the Catalan economic, social, cultural, and union fabric. In addition, he has warned that it will "aggravate" banking concentration and make credit for households and SMEs more expensive.
The vice president has warned of the "systemic" risk of bank concentration, which is estimated to reach 20%, and of "further strengthening the financial oligopoly." She also predicted that the process could result in the layoff of 5,000 workers and worsen financial exclusion. Another drawback identified by the second vice president of the Spanish government is the accessibility of credit for households and small and medium-sized businesses, and she predicted a "serious impact" in Catalonia, where she noted that she faces opposition from various sectors. Therefore, she advocated for the Spanish government to halt the takeover bid and emphasized that it has "the final say" in this process.
Now it is her government colleague, the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, who has the file on the table and must decide whether to take it to the Council of Ministers within 15 days. On Wednesday, sources from the Ministry of Economy assured that a "rigorous and detailed" analysis of the Competition Authority's ruling will be carried out. The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, also stated on Wednesday night that the Government will defend "the interests of Catalonia" and, through the social network X, Illa affirmed that they will "rigorously" analyze the Competition Authority's report.
For her part, the First Vice President and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, said that it is "premature" for the government to take a position. The minister said that "now it is up to the government to study it, see what conditions the CNMC has put on the table and what the response from BBVA is." "To the extent that we have thoroughly analyzed this report, we will be able to convey what the government's position will be, but today it is still premature to be able to anticipate a decision," she stated.
Unions and employers' associations have also begun to take a stand. Pimec, the Catalan association of small and medium-sized businesses, was the first to do so, even though the conditions imposed by the Competition Commission were not yet known. The entity chaired by Antoni Cañete expressed "concern and disagreement" with the CNMC's decision, believing that there are "persistent risks" for SMEs and "territorial equity." The employers' association called on the Spanish government to safeguard the general interest and believes that BBVA's commitments are "insufficient to mitigate the risks" and maintain credit for SMEs and, therefore, "for business financing as a whole."
Impact on employment
The two main unions have also taken a position on the takeover bid and expressed their fears about the impact on employment. Just before the start of the May Day demonstration, the Catalan Workers' Commissions (CCOO) and UGT (UGT) have urged the Spanish government to act to stop the takeover bid. warned that the takeover bid "doesn't bring anything good" for workers, SMEs, or the self-employed. "It will affect ordinary people," she said. Belén López, general secretary of the CCOO (Working Council of Workers' Parties), has called for the working conditions of bank employees to be safeguarded and for it to be guaranteed that there is no banking exclusion or loss of access. The CCOO (Working Council of Workers' Parties) have warned that it is the workers in the financial sector who stand to lose out with the resolution of the takeover bid. "BK_SLT_LNA~ "We hope that the bank shareholders, who will have the final say, will still take a position that allows the bank to be maintained and that the government itself will consider the general interest and how the financial sector will be left with a merger that makes no sense," Álvarez stated. "Through its own process," it aims to reduce financial competition, and she expressed her concern about a merger that she hopes will ultimately not go through. Financial institutions that want to gain muscle and influence "in this globalized world" must aspire to greater banking unity in the future and not continue to fish in the same tank as the Spanish financial system
The leader of the Spanish National Commission for the Reconstruction of Catalonia (ERC), Oriol Junqueras, said on Catalunya Ràdio that his party is defending this. In this sense, he asserted that "if the Spanish government authorizes the takeover bid for Banc Sabadell, it must be guaranteed that it is carried out with the maximum guarantees for consumers and the country as a whole." Toribio expressed his respect for the CNMC's decision, although he believes it "ignores" a "key" aspect such as the structural balance of the financial system. "The deterioration of free competition by concentrating the capacity to control market conditions in three or four main players," he stated. "A lot," Suárez admitted in statements to TVE. In this regard, he warned about the concentration of banking entities and recalled that in the 1990s there were about a hundred and currently only a dozen. "I find it hard to believe this is good news for consumers and SMEs," he said of the operation.
The takeover bid is also good news. Its president, Jordi Casas, has demanded an "informative file" from the Competition Authority because information came out while the markets were open. Turkey is gaining market share in Spain. "What's not worth it is trying to solve structural problems by buying cheap," he warned.
The ACCO considers the conditions imposed by BBVA insufficient.
The president of the Catalan Competition Authority (ACCO), Roger Loppacher, questioned whether the remedies approved by the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) in response to BBVA's takeover bid for Banco Sabadell "are sufficient," he told Europa Press. Loppacher explained that the ACCO does not rule out "a potential risk to competition" and that the entity he presides has requested more intense conditions. He lamented that the level of concentration in Catalonia would be "high, no, very high," if the takeover bid is completed, and that it would be the European territory with the highest banking concentration, which implies a potential risk affecting the conditions achieved by families, the self-employed, and SMEs, he believes. "The European Commission says that the commitments must completely eliminate competition problems and that they must be comprehensive and effective," adding that the remedies adopted do not allow these risks to be completely ruled out.
Loppacher believes that, despite the commitments approved by the CNMC, "there is a risk of financial exclusion" for older groups, those with less technological skills, and those in rural areas. He also sees a risk of credit reduction, both for SMEs and households, and denied that the household market is easier to fill for other institutions. He also emphasized that these are not structural commitments, but rather behavioral and temporary ones, adding that the deadlines indicated may not be sufficient.