Carlos Torres Vila: “What truly serves the public interest is for Banco Sabadell shareholders to be able to decide”
The BBVA Chair recalled this Wednesday that the BBVA Sabadell transaction has received over 27 approvals, including from the CNMC, following a process that has been “more rigorous and longer than ever before.” In an interview with Carlos Alsina on Onda Cero’s ‘Más de uno’ show, Carlos Torres Vila underscored that the integration with Banco Sabadell is a transaction between two private actors. “The truth is that what really serves the public interest is for Banco Sabadell shareholders to be able to decide whether to accept the offer,” he said. “We are confident that they will decide to join this great project.”
Carlos Torres Vila recalled that after this entire process, the CNMC concluded that the transaction does not affect competition, taking into account the significant remedies BBVA has made. “It is a transaction between private actors. Once the competition authorities have given their approval, what needs to occur is that Banco Sabadell shareholders, the owners of the company, can decide - that is what truly serves the public interest,” he stated.
Furthermore, Torres Vila underscored that BBVA is by far the bank that has invested the most in Catalonia over the past decade. “We have a historic presence in the region. We are the second largest bank, with two million customers and 400 branches, and we do an enormous amount of social initiatives in Catalonia,” he said. In the last four years, BBVA has channeled over €70 million of financing to Catalan businesses. Last year, one out of every three SMEs that opened a bank account in Catalonia chose BBVA.
The BBVA Chair recalled that it is a transaction that is “good for everyone,” including BBVA and Sabadell customers because they are going to have the same proximity, the same agents that they have today in a much stronger bank. “It will be a bank that can better support families and businesses, a bank that can finance better due to the greater efficiency that comes with it. And this will lead to more credit in better conditions. In fact, we have calculated an additional €5 billion of credit per year,” he explained.
He also emphasized that the transaction fits very well with the European context, and Europe’s need to “awaken” to compete globally. This means mobilizing significant resources to invest in infrastructure, defense and in the energy transition. “We need to pursue scale, bigger, more efficient players in a world in which technology is becoming increasingly important,” he added.
Carlos Torres Vila pointed out that BBVA is currently in a good position. “The bank is having a spectacular moment”, he noted. “We are the European bank with the greatest growth, and the most profitable of the 15 large banks to which we compare ourselves.” The BBVA Chair explained that the Group recently concluded its strategic plan for the last five years and just began a new plan for the 2025-2029 period.