Latest news with #BBVA
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
EU warns Spain's government not to hinder BBVA's bid for Sabadell
LONDON/MADRID, May 28 (Reuters) - The European Union has warned the Spanish government against trying to prevent banking consolidation it says is needed to create strong lenders, after Madrid announced a ministerial review of BBVA's ( opens new tab bid for rival Sabadell ( opens new tab. Spain's government has opposed BBVA's hostile move since it was made more than a year ago, citing potential risks to jobs. The economy minister Carlos Cuerpo announced the rare move on Tuesday of examining BBVA's offer, which has been approved by the European Central Bank and Spain's competition regulator. The government cannot stop BBVA from buying shares in Sabadell but it can block a full merger. Now it has until the end of June to decide whether to approve the bid and whether to set conditions relating to the implications for jobs and branches. Olof Gill, the European Commission's spokesperson for financial services, said that there was no basis to stop a deal if it met standards on risks and competition, particularly as consolidation was vital to build stronger European lenders and in turn make the EU's Savings and Investment Union a success. "It is important that banking sector consolidation can take place without undue or inappropriate obstacles being imposed," he said. Cuerpo said he was not concerned about the EU's warning. "We are fully respectful of the procedure, the deadlines, and the involvement of the various institutions that are part of this process," he told reporters. The past year has seen a jump in European banking M&A activity, as lenders flush with cash look to make deals that industry supervisors and executives hope can create banks better able to compete with rivals in the United States and Asia. However a number of deals have run into problems with politicians. UniCredit's ( opens new tab move on Commerzbank ( opens new tab is opposed by Berlin and Italy recently imposed conditions on UniCredit's offer for its peer Banco BPM. BBVA says it wants to buy Sabadell to build the second largest lender in Spain, and agreed with the competition watchdog it would limit branch closures and maintain capital lines to small and medium-sized clients. Sabadell says the deal will damage competitiveness, particularly in the area of lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, where the bank is strong.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
BBVA's Bid for Sabadell Delayed Amid Government Review
CC-Transcript 00:00Rodrigo, Spain's antitrust watchdog, had cleared the offer with some conditions. So I wonder how Madrid's justifying its own review. So they are saying it's about national interest and that gives them the right to look into this. Legally, they're allowed to do this, but they have certain restrictions and they can only comment beyond or on top of what the CMC, the watchdog, said. They cannot add new factors into their analysis. The other issue here is whether or not they can argue that this has to do with national security, not only national interest. That is a bit harder to imagine, but that is one issue that the other parties will be looking at, because BBVA says that legally they can only get involved in issues with national security. So you have two arguments. On one hand, they say it's national interest. On the other hand, you have BBVA saying the law only allows you to step in if you have issues of national security. So those are the two arguments that are being used right now to justify this. Okay. But if the government does set tough conditions on a takeover, how much could that limit what BBVA wants to do? Would it mean that the deal just isn't worth it in the end? So there are two kind of conditions they can set right now. On one hand, the one that's pretty clear is that the government has the ability to block the legal merger. What that means is BBVA could potentially end up buying a stake, even over 50% in SABADELL. But could it actually merge the banks? It could be just a shareholder, but not the actual owner. That's something the government can do legally. And obviously, then the question would be, is BBVA interested in being a shareholder in its competitor? Also, how does that affect competition? And that's one issue. BBVA has always said that they are interested and will stay here on the long run. The other way that this could play out is that the government sets tougher conditions, as you say, such as higher restrictions on the conditions they have to offer to clients, and that instead of doing these conditions like the competition regulator asked for three years or five, in some cases, the government says no, these conditions have to be one in ten for ten or 15. And that's when BBVA could potentially say, this is too much for me. The final thing is BBVA could also indicate that, okay, look, we will put money on the table. We will offer cash to the shareholders, and that suddenly changes the mood on this Sabadell site. That has not been floated yet, but it is a it's a trump card. Everybody's, you know, has expectations around.
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Spain Cabinet to Conduct Further Review of BBVA's Bid for Sabadell
The Spanish government plans an additional review of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria's hostile bid for smaller peer Banco de Sabadell SAB 0.29%increase; green up pointing triangle, drawing out the yearlong takeover battle further. Spain's Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business said late Tuesday that the offer would be referred to the cabinet on general-interest grounds other than competition, citing the potential impact of the deal on the sector, territorial cohesion and social policy among other reasons.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
BBVA to invest $5.2 billion in Mexico through 2030
MEXICO CITY, May 27 (Reuters) - Spanish bank BBVA ( opens new tab plans to invest more than 100 billion pesos ($5.19 billion) in Mexico through 2030, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The investment is part of BBVA's long-term bet on the Latin American nation, the firm added. "The 100 billion pesos that we are announcing is not only an investment," BBVA chair Carlos Torres Vila said in the announcement. "It's a commitment to the more than 30 million customers we serve in the country." BBVA added that it was looking to further strengthen its corporate banking presence in the nation and boost customer service. ($1 = 19.2575 Mexican pesos)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BBVA to invest $5.2 billion in Mexico through 2030
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Spanish bank BBVA plans to invest more than 100 billion pesos ($5.19 billion) in Mexico through 2030, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The investment is part of BBVA's long-term bet on the Latin American nation, the firm added. "The 100 billion pesos that we are announcing is not only an investment," BBVA chair Carlos Torres Vila said in the announcement. "It's a commitment to the more than 30 million customers we serve in the country." BBVA added that it was looking to further strengthen its corporate banking presence in the nation and boost customer service. ($1 = 19.2575 Mexican pesos) Sign in to access your portfolio
