Catalan Banc Sabadell concludes the integration of Caixa Penedès’ business and becomes Spain’s 4th largest bank

Barcelona (ACN).- Last weekend Banc Sabadell concluded the integration of savings bank Caixa Penedès’ entire branch network in Catalonia and Aragón, as well as all its technological and operational platforms. With this final integration, Banc Sabadell has €170 billion in assets, around 6 million clients and 12% of Spain’s banking branches. This means that the Catalan bank is now the 4^th largest retail financial entity in Spain, after the Barcelona-based CaixaBank, Santander and BBVA. Banc Sabadell bought Caixa Penedès’ banking business in Catalonia and Aragón to Banco Mare Nostrum (BNM) last May. In only 5 months, Banc Sabadell has added the 376 branches of Caixa Penedès to its network, along with 545 million client registers and 900,000 clients. In the last year, the Catalan bank has doubled the size of its network, since it also integrated the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo (CAM) network. Now, Banc Sabadell will have 869 branches in Catalonia. Finally, the absorption of Caixa Penedès has not come with the mass lay-off of 400 employees that had been announced thanks to the agreement reached in September between the unions and the company managers.

Banc Sabadell, which is chaired by Josep Oliu, has finished changing over the signs in the 361 branches that Caixa Penedès had in Catalonia and the 15 it had in Aragón. This change has also included the savings bank’s headquarters in Vilafranca del Penedès. As of Monday, Banc Sabadell’s blue corporate image was present in all the branches, replacing Caixa Penedès’ green banners and logos. The process has been completed in five months, a short time considering the complexity of the operation. Now, Banc Sabadell has to incorporate the banking business of three other acquisitions: Banco Gallego, the Lloyds Banking Group in Spain and the retail business of the Lloyds Banking Group in Miami, Florida.

The Director General of Spain’s 4^th largest bank, Miquel Montes – who was in charge of the integration process – thanked the Caixa Penedès staff for their cooperation via a press release issued over the weekend. Montes highlighted “the excellent attitude” that they “have shown towards the assimilation, in a short time, of the culture and proceedings changes”. In addition, he also wanted to emphasise the positive reaction of clients “regarding our products and services, as well regarding the active participation they have shown in being part of our shareholder base through the capital enlargement” (which took place last September).

Caixa Penedès was part of Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN)

Caixa Penedès was one of the four savings banks that formed Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN) in December 2010, which begun its activities in June 2011. Caja Murcia, Caja Granada and Sa Nostra were the other participating financial entities. Originally Caixa Penedès owned 28% of BMN and each savings bank was to continue its business activities with its own brand and particular business model. Therefore, BMN was operating in Catalonia and Aragón as Caixa Penedès, under the corporate identity of the former savings bank. From November 2012, Banc Sabadell started to negotiate with BNM to acquire its banking business in Catalonia and Aragón, which was equivalent to buying up Caixa Pendès’ banking business. The agreement was reached in December and came to effect in May 2013. In the last 5 months the Catalan private bank has managed to totally integrate the new financial entity into its system.

Banc Sabadell has been buying several banks in the last years

In fact, Banc Sabadell has a lot of experience in merger operations and acquisitions. In 2000, it bought Banco Herrero. In 2004, it was the turn of Banco Atlántico, which included the purchase of the bank’s headquarters in Barcelona, a tower in the Catalan capital’s Diagonal Avenue. In 2006, Banc Sabadell acquired Banco Urquijo. In 2007, the TransAtlantic Bank of Miami. A year later, it also bought BBVA’s business in Miami and, in 2009, Mellon United Bank, also based in Florida’s main city. In 2010, Banco Sabadell made one of its largest purchases in buying Banco Guipuzcoano. Next year, it was the turn for another Florida entity, the Lydian Private Bank of Miami. In 2012, Banc Sabadell purchased the CAM and in 2013, the Banco Gallego, the Lloyds Banking Group’s network in Spain and the private banking business of the same UK bank in Miami.