“We are absolutely against this operation.” This is how blunt the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, has been regarding the hostile takeover bid through which BBVA intends to take control of Banc de Sabadell.
“It is an operation that destroys value, it is an operation that destroys work,” Mazón added, “it is an operation that destroys territory, it is an operation that destroys competition.”
For the head of the Consell, the BBVA plan goes “against the province of Alicante, against the Valencian Community, against the consumer, it does not make any sense, it does not contribute absolutely anything new and it is not only part of a background against which we have already demonstrated, but in absolutely arrogant and intolerable ways.”
The head of the Valencian Consell hopes “that Alicante society, that the society of the Valencian Community reacts accordingly and that we all ensure that this operation is not completed.” The Minister of Finance, Economy and Public Administration, Ruth Merino, has pointed out that “if the offer already seemed like bad news to us, the way in which it is proposed now, through a hostile takeover bid – the word says it all – seems like terrible news to us. ”.
The Valencian employers’ association has also positioned itself radically against the operation. In a statement, the Valencian Business Confederation (CEV) “starting from absolute respect for business freedom, considers that the hostile takeover launched by BBVA to Banco Sabadell, despite possibly complying with all legal and procedural requirements, if successful , would further restrict the range of financing possibilities for companies in the Valencian Community.”
For the institution that represents Valencian businessmen, “the concentration of the banking sector in Spain is already very high. The first four banks already monopolize 70% of certain financial segments, such as the deposit and account market, and, if this operation becomes effective, they would be in the hands of only three banks.”
In this context, the CEV statement adds, “the new operation would increase the concentration in the supply of credit and the provision of financial services to companies and citizens, and would entail a severe readjustment of entities, offices and, ultimately, the supply.” of credit and financing at the territorial level”
“Likewise,” the document concludes, “if this circumstance were to occur, it would also be detrimental to Alicante due to the loss of the headquarters of the entity, which has great roots in the territory, and, therefore, of the manifest sensitivity of the entity with the productive and social fabric.”
