Sánchez announces a public consultation before deciding on the hostile takeover bid for Sabadell.

BarcelonaThe Círculo de Economía conference kicks off this Monday in Barcelona amidst much political and economic excitement. Especially since it plans to BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell And because the event was opened by Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, who could have the financial transaction on the table within a few days, with the option of setting new conditions "of general interest." The head of the State's executive branch wanted to explicitly address this during his speech: he announced that he will open a public consultation before deciding whether to gather the opinions of businesses, social stakeholders, and civil society on the takeover bid that the Basque bank launched almost a year ago for Sabadell.

Furthermore, he has already hinted at the Spanish government's reluctance to the intentions of the bank chaired by Carlos Torres, since he has emphasized that it has problems—detected by the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC)—with "excessive concentration."

Until now, the State's executive branch has been opposed to the takeover bid. In fact, Sumar has explicitly come out against the operation in recent days, but the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) has recently moderated its stance. Sánchez's statement at the Economic Circle was the first after the CNMC report, which, despite the conditions for financing SMEs, particularly the Catalan ones, has decided to unanimously authorize the operation launched by BBVA.

BBVA Chairman Carlos Torres was quick to react to Sánchez's announcement: "I have the utmost respect for the decisions [of the Spanish government]," he said in a press conference, also from the Círculo de Economía (Economic Circle). Torres once again boasted about the operation and its benefits, not only for the State, but also for Catalonia. In fact, BBVA has always been Very confident that Sánchez's executive will not hinder the operation, although Monday's announcement was an unexpected turn of events. In fact, Torres he found out live. On the other hand, the president of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu, views Sánchez's announcement as "positive," as he expressed at the same business meeting. The truth is that for the Vallecas-based bank, it represents an opportunity to once again raise one of the arguments it has consistently used to criticize the operation: the "unanimous" rejection by society and business.

Foment del Treball also rejects the takeover bid

The president of the Fomento del Trabajo (Working Development) employers' association, Josep Sánchez Llibre, described this Monday the ruling by the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC, the state competition regulator) authorizing BBVA's takeover bid for Banco Sabadell as "disappointing," "insufficient," "inappropriate," and "hasty." "We ask the Spanish government and the Prime Minister [Pedro Sánchez] to halt this operation," said Sánchez Llibre.

The employers' association—which represents large Catalan companies—hastily opposed the Basque bank's attempted purchase of Sabadell from the outset, believing it would substantially reduce competition in the sector, especially SMEs' access to credit. "A resolution of this magnitude should include a more exhaustive and in-depth study of the valuation and the consequences of the credit situation," Sánchez Llibre said in a statement to the press just before attending the annual conference of the Círculo de Economía, which begins this Monday in Barcelona.

Ambiguity in the PP

For its part, the PP continues to be ambiguous regarding the operation and has taken the opportunity to criticize Sánchez and his announcement. From Catalonia, the party's secretary general, Santi Rodríguez, lamented that the Spanish government "has no opinion on an operation of this magnitude that would have a significant impact on Spanish financial institutions." Regarding the takeover bid specifically, Rodríguez once again appealed to the need for "plurality in the financial offering" and for that offering to be as unconcentrated as possible. However, he clarified that this includes many elements.

In Génova, the PP's economic secretary, Juan Bravo, also expressed reluctance to consider the operation: "The PP will be against [the takeover bid] if the guarantees" of competition and access to financing for the self-employed and SMEs are not respected. However, his statements were also ambiguous: "It's not a political issue, but a management issue." "We have to listen to the experts" and see "if all the guarantees are met," he concluded. Sources at Génova privately emphasize their doubts: "From the outset, we are against the takeover bid, but we lack information."

Pressure from ERC and Junts

On the other hand, those who have not hesitated to pressure Sánchez to hinder the takeover bid are the pro-independence parties. Junts, which has avoided drawing blood with the vote of the CNMC councilor, Pere Soler, proposed by its party, has urged the state executive to act: "We already know what the result will be [the consultation] in Catalonia, a unanimous rejection by companies and all social stakeholders; what they should do is get involved and stop this one, or stop this one. On the other hand, ERC has applauded the announcement.

The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, listened to Sánchez from the front row of the Círculo sessions and, in fact, has been gathered, as did the mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni. Isla enthusiastically welcomed the announcement. In fact, he had already openly opposed the operation. "We will defend the interests of Catalonia," he said upon learning of the Competition report.

From the very beginning, the takeover bid for Sabadell has been the focus of conversation at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, and before the conference even began, all the attention shifted to the presidents of these financial institutions, who made an appearance at the opening ceremony. Before everyone's eyes, Sabadell's president, Josep Oliu, approached the president of BBVA, Carlos Torres, to greet them, and they held a brief conversation in front of the cameras.

Following the CNMC's decision to unanimously authorize the takeover bid for Sabadell –with the vote in favor of Pere Soler, proposed by Junts, which has raised controversy–The ball is now in the court of the Spanish government. Specifically, it is in the court of the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, who has 15 working days to decide whether to refer his decision on the financial transaction to the Council of Ministers. If he does, it will open the door for Pedro Sánchez's administration to impose tougher conditions. It is in this context that the Spanish prime minister has announced a prior public consultation before making any final decision. Following the Spanish government's position, and if BBVA continues with its plans, the transaction would still have to go through the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and, ultimately, Sabadell's shareholders.

The massive blackout

However, the takeover bid for Sabadell was not the only topical issue addressed by the Spanish Prime Minister in his speech at the Círculo conference. He began his speech by referring to the energy system and the massive blackout that occurred just a week ago, insisting that the Spanish government will go to the end to determine the causes of the incident. He also reaffirmed his commitment to the energy transition, despite the ongoing debate. reopened on the future of nuclear energy.

After highlighting Spain's response to the crisis—"We returned to normality in record time," he said—he boasted about Spain's commitment to renewable energy and the fact that energy prices in Spain are 30% cheaper than in the rest of the European Union. He also emphasized Spain's positive economic outlook to the business community. "We are the driving force of the entire eurozone," he concluded, and advocated for the European Union to seek strategic autonomy open to other economies.

The response to tariffs

In the opinion of the Spanish president, the main short-term challenge for Spain and the European Union is to respond to US tariffs, a "threat" that, he insisted, persists. Thus, he called for "dialogue" to promote international trade and touted the decree drafted by the Council of Ministers to help the sectors most affected by Donald Trump's economic policies. "I call on the parliamentary groups to support the measures for the tariff crisis. I ask that they not turn their backs on our country," he said, and asked the parties to vote for this Thursday, when the package of measures must be ratified in the Congress of Deputies. A request that the PP has already rejected, asserting that if they do not push through the measures, it is because the Spanish government has not accepted the Popular Party's proposals, said Juan Bravo.

Pedro Sánchez has also made another request to the parliamentary groups and the business community: that they not immediately close themselves off to the reduction of the working day, which must be approved this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers and which does not have the support of the employers' associations (nor yet of the majority in Congress). Together, however, which supports the Spanish government, has already announced that it will present an amendment to the whole.

The president of the Círculo, Jaume Guardiola, opened the conference by outlining the main issues that will be the focus of this week's discussions at the Palacio de Congresos de Catalunya. These issues center primarily on the new geopolitical situation and, specifically, the future of the European Union—with increased productivity and rearmament as the main challenges. "The moment is grave, and there is no other alternative in Europe," he summarized.