The Catalan energy company Holaluz has gone from being considered a success story to being one step away from losing its operating license. Last week, the Spanish government began the procedures to withdraw its consideration as an electricity marketer and a procedure to transfer their clients to other reference companies. However, what has happened since the applause in entrepreneurship forums and the headlines for Holaluz to have reached this point?

BBVA – which has accelerated shareholder payouts after The takeover bid for Banc Sabadell failed– has been among the last to increase its share buyback programs, by an amount of nearly €4 billion, the largest in the company's history. With this latest operation, share buybacks by the major Spanish companies in the Ibex 35 will exceed €14 billion this year, at the same levels as the previous year, maintaining the upward trend of this shareholder remuneration method.