Spain’s Minister of Economy Nadia Calvino has revealed that the government has no plans to divest its stake in CaixaBank.
As per Reuters’ report, on being asked when the government plans to sell its 16% stake in Caixabank, Calvino told the Spanish newspaper Expansion that “we are in no hurry to do so.”
Go deeper with GlobalData
Calvino stated that “it is a very well-managed institution and after completing the consolidation process, which has been very good for the Spanish financial sector, we have no plans on the horizon or intention to divest the state’s stake.”
In March this year, Caixabank received regulatory clearance for its $5.2bn acquisition of government-backed lender Bankia.
The merger created the country’s biggest domestic lender with over €650bn in assets with the government having a 16.12% stake in the merged entity.
Last month, CaixaBank completed the technological and operational integration of Bankia.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataNotably, the government provided €22.4bn to Bankia to rescue the lender in 2012 during the financial crisis.
As per the report, the government has given itself a two-year window, which ends in 2023, to divest its stake in Bankia and recover the funds used to keep the lender afloat.
Separately, Spanish bad bank Sareb, established to take bad loans from the financial crisis in 2012, sued lenders such as Sabadell and Caixabank over interest payments on debt portfolios.
During the crisis, Sareb took over bad loans worth €50bn from nine savings banks.
