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Esade Matins Esade with César González-Bueno, Banc Sabadell CEO

According to the Sabadell CEO, BBVA’s take-over bid is unlikely to succeed: there’s been no agreement, the price is too low, and shareholders don’t have all the necessary information
Matins Esade

 

“The take-over bid is unlikely to succeed: there’s been no agreement, the price is too low, and shareholders don’t have all the necessary information,” explained César González-Bueno, Banc Sabadell CEO at the latest Esade Matins session entitled “Present and future of Banc Sabadell.”

During the conversation he explained the bank’s present situation after the restructuring carried out over the last four years, outlining its strengths and expectations for the coming years, and developments regarding the hostile take-over bid made by BBVA.

 “A merger of two banks whose location and business are complementary is one thing, but a merger of two banks that severely curtails competition in a geographic or business area is something quite different. SMEs in Spain need to work with several banks in case of difficult access to credit: they look to diversify their finance,” continued González-Bueno. “As for striking a balance between size and efficiency, I don’t think it’s right, generally speaking, to associate size with profitability because of the balance between a bank’s efficiency and consumer protection - and this is precisely the issue with the take-over bid.”

The Banc Sabadell CEO also spoke at Esade Matins about the future of banking, which he regarded as good. “Interest rates seem to be settling down, we’re keeping pace with digitalization, but the intangible factor – trust – won’t change.”

 

Matins Esade

Transformation and customer focus

The speaker, who also talked about his academic and personal track record during the session, highlighted that “Banc Sabadell’s appreciation is establishing itself as the best value in 2024” with “good future prospects.” He revealed that since his arrival in 2021, the bank has “drawn up and implemented a strategic plan that has not only made it profitable again but also enabled this great bank to be feasible by itself. The bank has been radically overhauled, particularly in the area of personal banking where we’ve achieved great milestones regarding accounts, consumer transactions and cards, making us online leaders in addition to being specialists in handling such crucial products as mortgages, insurance, savings and investment.” “Business banking is our crown jewel, we’re good with SMEs, we’re the bank for business. In other words, we’ve bolstered our franchise,” he stressed.

 

“Business banking is our crown jewel, we’re good with SMEs, we’re the bank for business. In other words, we’ve bolstered our franchise.”

 

César González-Bueno was joined by Daniel Sánchez, president of Esade Alumni; Jaume Guardiola, president of the Esade Board of Trustees; and Luis Vives, director of Esade Corporate Relations and Engagement, with whom he had the conversation.

 

Esade Matins

 

You can see the video of the session at the Content Hub

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