Sabadell warns that BBVA's takeover bid will result in 4,000 job cuts

The Banco Sabadell has warned that BBVA's takeover bid to merge both entities will result in a reduction of about 4,000 jobs in the resulting bank. This was explained by the CEO of the entity, González-Bueno, during the presentation of the third quarter results.

Sabadell has made these estimates based on the BBVA takeover bid prospectus published in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. It is expected that the bank will have cost savings of about 300 million euros due to these departures. "If you do the inverse of the historical personnel cost of the departures, it gives you 4,000, we have deduced it ourselves, it's like two and two are four," explained César González-Bueno to the media last Thursday.

Sabadell continues its fight against the takeover bid and does so by boasting after achieving a record profit between January and September, with 1,295 million euros in profits, practically matching the figures of the previous full year and doing so with three months left to account for in 2024.

The figure is 26% higher than the same period last year and has meant that the bank has raised its RoTE profitability by 296 basis points, reaching 13.2% at the end of September. These values served the bank to boast about its project.

"One more quarter we note an improvement in profitability and solvency, which supports the creation of value for shareholders on a recurring basis and the solo project of Banco Sabadell," expressed the CEO, who highlighted that "we are at record profit levels, growing in volumes and supporting the investment of families, SMEs, and companies."

From the bank, they highlighted the "solid balance and robust and healthy growth" they have in the banking entity, which allows them to look to the future with optimism and "very good prospects for the coming years," once again demonstrating their rejection of BBVA's takeover bid.

The job loss data presented last Thursday by Sabadell was already known since last April 30 when the agreement proposed by BBVA and rejected by Sabadell was made public, leading to the hostile takeover bid. An announcement that announced a possible cut of about 4,000 people in the workforce, as has happened in other mergers, such as that of La Caixa and Bankia, which resulted in the destruction of 6,000 jobs.

The unions went further and CCOO and UGT reported to the CNMC the loss of between 7,684 and 10,567 jobs as a result of the merger, which would result in the closure of between 589 and 883 offices in Spain, although the territories that would fare worst would be Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Asturias, and Galicia.

Meanwhile, BBVA has repeatedly stated its intention to "grow," avoiding giving calculations on job destruction, something that should be agreed upon with unions once both banks are merged. However, BBVA admitted layoffs, but at the same time "a commitment" to Alicante, where Sabadell's social headquarters is located and from where it would disappear if both banks were to merge.