I don't know if César González-Bueno, 65, CEO of Banc Sabadell, is a Beatles fan, but he's copied them by resigning at the height of their success. "He could have stayed on as long as he wanted, but he preferred to hand over the reins to someone with a promising career ahead of him," I'm told. After five years, he's leaving—he says—of his own volition and in agreement with Chairman Josep Oliu, his comrade in arms and through the tensions during the BBVA takeover bid, which they both sacked, convinced he's done his job.

For Banc Sabadell, 2025 was a year marked by BBVA's takeover bid, which ultimately failed for the Basque bank. However, during the year, the bank, chaired by Josep Oliu and still headed by CEO César González-Bueno –He announced his retirement this Thursday and will leave his post in May – earned €1.775 billion, slightly less than the previous year (-2.8%), when the figure was €1.827 billion. However, the bank maintains that net profit, excluding extraordinary items, increased by 3.4% compared to the previous year.

After the BBVA's takeover bid journeyFollowing the failed takeover bid by BBVA, Banc Sabadell's CEO, César González-Bueno, 65, has decided to retire. He will be replaced by Marc Armengol, CEO of the group's British subsidiary, which was sold to Banco Santander. The bank's board of directors made this decision after González-Bueno, who joined the institution in 2020, decided to step down. According to the bank, they mutually agreed that "this is the optimal time for the transition." The executive, with a long career in banking, arrived at Sabadell shortly after BBVA's first attempt to take control of Sabadell in 2020, and is leaving four months after the Basque bank's second attempt failed last October. The bank will present its 2025 results this Friday.

The failure of BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell opens a new scenario for the Catalan financial institution and the Spanish sector. Experts predict future movements in the mid-sized banking sector that could be led by the Vallesan bank, now smaller following the agreement to sell its British subsidiary TSB to Santander, which provides a fifth of its profits. The objective is to strengthen the bank's profile "focused on Spain, one of the countries with the best economic prospects in the European Union," which means "having predictable income and a controlled cost of risk," explained the financial director, Sergi Palavecino, to present the strategic plan until 2027 in July.

A merger attempt marked by its heightened hostility is coming to an end. As citizens, we should rejoice that it didn't serve to increase the country's banking concentration. I don't think shareholders and employees of both necessarily have to think the same. BBVA, a large bank, has seen its strategy and the credibility of its management eroded in the medium term. The exact opposite is true for Sabadell: congratulations to its managers, but it's becoming a very complex task for them, and it's starting now. The opposite will happen to shareholders: despite Sabadell's success, the stock price is expected to suffer in the short term. Its value is falling, inflated by the same expectation of a takeover bid and an extraordinary dividend distribution that must not decapitalize the bank.

He president of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu, has admitted in his first reaction after the failure of the BBVA takeover bid that he hadn't expected "such a resounding result." "It was a big surprise," he told Catalunya Ràdio, adding that he thought the takeover bid would be "over 30%." Oliu said they were aware of the "absolute support" of minority shareholders, but that they had "no evidence" of the overall support there would be for the Vallesan bank's project.

A decisive week has begun for BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell. After sixteen months of battle and a flurry of appearances by the top executives of both entities, the end is near. Or so it seems. In principle, next Wednesday, September 24th—Feast of the Mercè and a holiday in Barcelona—is the last day on which BBVA can improve its offer, although some place the limit at the 23rd. Be that as it may, the bank chaired by Carlos Torres has so far insisted on maintaining what it offers and He has stated on multiple occasions that he will not change it., although the premium has been negative since January—in recent days it has been marked by volatility. Beyond that date, the calendar remains packed with potential open scenarios.

Despite 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.

Banco Sabadell CEO César González-Bueno stated that BBVA's takeover bid reached a maximum negative premium of 7.5%. This means that shareholders would be better off selling their shares now on the market than accepting the Basque bank's offer. The deal will not go through "because society doesn't want it," he added.