The Generalitat has asked the Comisión Nacional de Mercados de la Competencia (CNMC) and the Comisión Europea (CE) to prevent BBVA’s takeover bid for Banco Sabadell. Specifically, the Minister of Economy, Natàlia Mas, has sent letters to the president of the Spanish regulator, Cani Fernández, and to the European vice-president and head of Competition, Margrethe Vestager, to “prevent the operation from happening”.
Mas pointed out at a press conference that in Catalonia there is already a high banking concentration with a situation of oligopoly. “If the operation goes ahead, the level of banking concentration would be the highest in Europe,” he indicated. The three large Spanish banks now dominate the market with 72.8% of banking offices. If the purchase is approved, it would rise to 84.7%. Mas has exemplified the low remuneration of the deposits of Spanish banks compared to European ones.
The minister recalled the intervention of the governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos, this week where he pointed out the problems of concentration in the Spanish market. “The Bank of Spain, which often acts as a banking association instead of defending the interests of users, has denounced this situation,” she stressed. “We hope that the change in discourse is maintained and reinforced,” she added.
In his opinion, the operation would be very negative for the Catalan market. “There would be a loss of economic power, competition and jobs,” he indicated. The Generalitat also maintains that the most affected would be companies due to difficulties in accessing credit. Banks’ exposure levels would limit the number of credit lines available and conditions would worsen.
