The Spanish left -wing government on Tuesday launched an unprecedented public consultation on the Public Acquisition Offer (OPA) of the BBVA bank on its competitor Sabadell, which raises strong reluctance in the unions and in a part of the business.
This initiative, aimed at gathering the opinion of professional organizations and associations concerned, arrives three weeks before the government of the socialist Pedro Sánchez has to examine the OPA in the Council of Ministers, according to legal deadlines.
The consultation will allow the Executive to make their final decision on the OPA with “all guarantees,” said Sánchez on Monday, specifying that the objective of the government is to help Spanish companies “grow”, “as long as that benefits the common interest of the country and its citizens.”
Announced a year ago, the BBVA acquisition offer, the second Spanish bank, values its competitor Sabadell at about 12,000 million euros. The merger would allow to create a European banking giant capable of rivaling with the giants of the sector, such as Santander, BNP Paribas and HSBC.
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The BBVA has more than 78 million customers in 25 countries, and a strong implementation in Latin America, especially in Mexico.
At the end of a long procedure, the Spanish competition regulator (CNMC) approved the OPA last Wednesday, estimating that the measures announced by BBVA to solve the problems posed by this offer in terms of competition were “enough.”
This decision raised criticism from Sabadell, the fourth bank of the country with 20 million customers, but also of the main workers’ unions, who care about the impact of this OPA on the offices network of the two banking entities and employment.
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This operation is “very bad news for our country. Agravates the problem of financial concentration that Spain has,” said the Minister of Labor on Tuesday, Yolanda Díaz, leader of the Extrem Left Sumar Party, an ally of the Socialists in the government coalition.
In addition, “the financing costs of households and small businesses will make more expensive,” Díaz added, calling the “authentic nonsense” OPA.
After the announcement, on May 9, 2024, of the OPA, the Minister of Economy, Carlos Body, promised that the Government would have the last word on the operation, which, in addition to the green light of the CNMC, also has that of the European Central Bank (ECB).
However, due to this double approval, the government cannot properly block the operation. But it could decide, on the other hand, during its exam, it hardens the conditions established by the CNMC, to take the BBVA to throw in the towel.
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