The government open a “public consultation” on BBVA’s takeover bid for Banco de Sabadell to gauge the opinion of citizens, businesses, and associations. This was announced by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the 40th Cercle d’Economia meeting in Barcelona.
“To make a decision with all guarantees, the government will open tomorrow, May 6th, a prior public consultation with the aim of collecting the opinion of organizations, citizens, and associations,” he emphasized.
“Our desire is to help companies grow, but only as long as this benefits the common interest of the country and its citizens,” the President stated, who also mentioned that this consultation will go through the Council of Ministers and aims to understand the impact of the operation. “The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC, which has already approved the operation, with conditions) has detected some excessive concentration in payment methods, deposits, and loans, and has left the operation subject to a series of commitments,” Sánchez recalled.
Following the conditional authorization of the bid by the CNMC, the process now enters the so-called Phase 3, in which the Ministry of Economy has 15 working days to decide whether to directly approve the operation or elevate it to the Council of Ministers. In the latter case, a period of 30 calendar days opens for the Council of Ministers to study the bid, considering the general interest and potentially tightening the conditions set by the CNMC.
