Latest news with #CaixaBank
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
UK bank TSB could be sold off by Spanish owner Sabadell
The Spanish bank Sabadell has said it has received interest from prospective buyers of its UK division TSB, and said it would assess any firm offers it may receive. Sabadell wants to sell TSB as it battles to fend off an €11bn (£9.4bn) hostile approach from its Spanish rival BBVA. The Catalonia-based lender said it had received 'preliminary non-binding expressions of interest' for TSB from unnamed bidders, and would examine any potential binding offer. TSB has more than 5 million customers, and made headlines during a large-scale IT meltdown in 2018. Sabadell acquired TSB, which was previously owned by Lloyds Banking Group, for £1.7bn a decade ago. At the time, the bank wanted to 'internationalise' and expand outside Spain. However, the lender, which was created in 1881 by 127 families in Catalonia with the aim of financing local industry, has been locked in a prolonged takeover battle with BBVA for more than a year, casting uncertainty over TSB's future. Spain's socialist-led government, which has been opposed to a combination of the two big banks, last month carried out a full review. Together, BBVA and Sabadell would be the second-biggest player in the loan market, ahead of Santander but behind CaixaBank. The European Commission said last year it did not have any objections to the takeover of Sabadell after completing a foreign subsidies review. In November, TSB appointed Marc Armengol as chief executive, and he took over at the start of this year. He is a former strategy director at TSB who has served on the board since 2022, and originally joined Sabadell in 2002. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion A sale of TSB could generate between £1.7bn and £2bn, a source told the Financial Times. Also on Tuesday, the Irish government said it had sold its remaining shareholding in AIB Group, one of the country's two biggest lenders. It was nationalised 15 years ago as part of the eurozone's biggest state rescue during the financial crisis. The government sold a 2.06% stake in AIB at €6.94 a share, which will generate €305m, the finance ministry said. This will take the total returned to the state from its investment to €9.8bn.
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Irish-led Novo Banco said to get multiple bids
Novo Banco , the Portuguese bank lead by former AIB chief financial officer Mark Bourke , has attracted two bids from French banking group BPCE and CaixaBank of Spain, according to people familiar with the matter. Lone Star, the US private equity giant which owns Novo Banco, could sell the lender outright but is also evaluating whether to offload shares through an initial public offering, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. A preliminary decision on a winning bidder or the IPO route could be made as early as this week, the people said. Representatives for BPCE, CaixaBank and Lone Star declined to comment. Mr Bourke was CFO of AIB from 2014 to 2019, helping lead the bank through its IPO in 2017. He moved to Novo Banco as CFO before taking the top job in 2022. READ MORE [ Former AIB finance chief advances plan to float Portuguese bank Opens in new window ] US private equity firm Lone Star owns a 75% stake in Novo Banco, while Portugal's government holds 25% through entities including the country's Resolution Fund. JB Capital said in a research report in March that it estimated Novo Banco could be valued at between €5.5 billion and €7 billion. An acquisition of Novo Banco by BPCE, whose units include Banque Populaire and Natixis, or CaixaBank would be an important mark for cross-border banking deals in Europe. Governments in the region have recently hampered potential deals – Spain has been opposing the planned takeover of Banco Sabadell by BBVA, Italy is seeking to obstruct the purchase of Banco BPM by UniCredit, and Germany has said it's against a potential acquisition of Commerzbank by UniCredit. Portuguese finance minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento said in May that Spanish banks shouldn't further increase their presence in the country. Spanish lenders now already represent about a third of Portugal's banking market, he said in a television interview. 'I think that value shouldn't increase, due to a matter of concentration and of dependency,' he said. CaixaBank shares slipped 0.4% in Madrid on Monday. The Spanish lender already owns Banco BPI, Portugal's fifth-largest bank. Novo Banco is Portugal's fourth-biggest lender. It posted its first profit in 2021 and its net interest income climbed as central banks raised interest rates. Novo Banco previously had to shed assets and sell soured debt to reduce its non-performing loan ratio, which was one of the highest in Europe after the bank emerged from the break-up of Banco Espirito Santo SA a decade ago. Novo Banco has about €17 billion in corporate loans, €10 billion in mortgage loans and €2 billion in personal loans, according to a May 6 presentation. It has 1.7 million clients. The Portuguese bank has repeatedly said it's preparing for an IPO. If Lone Star picks that option, Novo Banco may be Portugal's first major IPO in four years and the biggest since the listing of EDP Renovaveis in 2008. Finance Minister Sarmento said in January that Lone Star planned to sell a stake of about 25% to 30% of Novo Banco in an IPO. Novo Banco's IPO could raise €1 billion or more depending on investor demand. The lender picked Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase as global coordinators for the first-time share sale. Lone Star also lined up Deutsche Bank to guide discussions with potential buyers of Novo Banco. Mr Bourke said in an interview on May 6 that Novo Banco was 'well advanced' in drafting a prospectus for a possible IPO, which it aimed to carry out in June at the earliest. Banco Espirito Santo, once Portugal's biggest lender by market value, got a roughly €5 billion rescue in 2014 after regulators ordered it to raise more capital following the disclosure of potential losses on loans linked to companies in the family-controlled Espirito Santo Group. The Portuguese central bank moved the lender's deposits and most of its assets to Novo Banco. Lone Star then agreed to inject €1 billion in Novo Banco when it bought its stake in the bank in 2017. – Bloomberg
Bloomberg
08-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Lone Star's Novo Banco Is Said to Get Bids From BPCE, CaixaBank
Lone Star's Portuguese lender Novo Banco SA attracted two bids from French banking group BPCE and CaixaBank SA of Spain, according to people familiar with the matter. Besides a sale by Lone Star to one of the two suitors, the alternative of selling Novo Banco shares through an initial public offering continues to be evaluated, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. A preliminary decision on a winning bidder or the IPO route could be made as early as this week, the people said.
Morocco World
31-05-2025
- Business
- Morocco World
Valencia Economic Delegation to Visit Tangier in June
Doha – A high-level economic delegation from Spain's Valencia region will visit Tangier on June 2-3, aiming to strengthen bilateral economic and commercial ties with Morocco. The mission is organized by the Valencia Chamber of Commerce, the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Chamber of Commerce, and Morocco's Consulate General in Valencia. Led by Marian Cano, Valencia's regional minister for Innovation and Industry, the delegation will include representatives from key sectors, including agri-food, textiles, tourism infrastructure, sports facilities, construction, transportation, and financial services. CaixaBank will be among the financial institutions represented. In a demonstration of the commitment of Valencia's main economic institutions to structured bilateral cooperation, the heads of the Chambers of Commerce of Valencia, Alicante, Orihuela, and Alcoy will also participate. The delegation's agenda begins with an opening session on Monday, June 2, at 9:30 a.m. at the headquarters of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Chamber of Commerce. This session will feature institutional officials and business leaders from both countries presenting regional development strategies and initiating dialogue between economic operators. Business-to-business meetings will follow, facilitating direct exchanges between Spanish and Moroccan companies to explore partnership opportunities. Read also: Spanish Municipal Delegation Explores Morocco's Dakhla Development Projects A visit to Tangier Med port, one of Africa's and the Mediterranean's largest logistics hubs, is also scheduled. This tour aims to showcase the region's infrastructure capabilities and competitive advantages. This mission comes as economic ties between Rabat and Madrid continue to grow. This week, on May 28, four investment agreements worth MAD 500 million ($50 million) were signed in Rabat between Morocco and Catalan companies. The agreements were concluded during a meeting between Karim Zidane, Morocco's Minister Delegate for Investment, and a delegation of Catalan businesses led by Josep Sánchez Llibre, president of Foment del Treball, the main employers' confederation in Spain's northeastern autonomous region. These Catalan investments will create over 700 direct jobs in Tangier, Tetouan, and Kenitra across several sectors, including automotive, waste management, industrial packaging, and construction materials. Sánchez Llibre announced that Catalan investments will continue flowing to Morocco, with another delegation of about twenty Catalan companies planning to visit within a year. Their three-day business trip follows the 'Morocco Now' roadshows held in Barcelona in January 2024, in Madrid in April 2025, and Foment's first visit to Morocco in June 2024. Tags: Morocco Spain relationsValencia
Bloomberg
26-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
CaixaBank Pushes Back on Opposition to Spanish Banks in Portugal
The head of CaixaBank SA 's Portuguese unit sought to refute criticism that Spanish banks have too much influence in the country, saying their investment was vital in strengthening Portugal's finance industry when others pulled back. 'I think consolidation is a European goal,' Banco BPI Chief Executive Officer Joao Pedro Oliveira e Costa said at a conference in Lisbon. 'We need to focus more on what unites us than what separates us.'
