Banc Sabadell to buy the Catalan savings bank Caixa Penedès

Barcelona (ACN).- On Tuesday, Banc Sabadell and Banco Mare Nostrum announced a definitive agreement to transfer Caixa Penedès’ territorial network and business in Catalonia and Aragon to the Catalan bank. This information came as no surprise, since Banc Sabadell’s intentions were announced a month ago. After this has been completed, Banc Sabadell, which has traditionally been focused on corporate banking, will strengthen its retail banking activity. It will increase its commercial network by 92% and will have the fourth largest network of branches in Catalonia. It will incorporate 462 branches, 900,000 clients and 2,000 workers. After the agreement, Banc Sabadell will have more than 6 million clients. According to Josep Oliu, the Banc Sabadell President, it is “a very interesting” operation because it represents “the incorporation” of a “consolidated and well-distributed” network of branches in Catalonia. Caixa Penedès was a medium-sized savings bank mostly operating in this Autonomous Community. In 2010 it took part in a ‘cold merger’ with 3 other Spanish savings banks (Sa Nostra, Caja Murcia and Caja Granada) and in February 2011 they created the private bank Banco Mare Nostrum, when most of the savings banks in Spain undertook this transformation following the new core capital requirements.

Banc Sabadell and Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN) have reached an agreement to buy BMN’s network in Catalonia and Aragon, which represents Caixa Penedès. The operation started on the 13^th of November. With this move, Banc Sabadell wants to foster its retail business in Catalonia, where the bank is from originally. After this move, Banc Sabadell will run 12% of all the banking branches in Catalonia, having the fourth largest network. The Catalan bank will incorporate 462 branches: 443 in Catalonia and 19 in Aragon. It will also gain 900,000 new clients and therefore the bank will have more than 6 million clients in total. The agreement includes investments in loans for some €10.6 billion and client deposits for €7.9 billion.