Spanish lenders Caixabank and Banco Sabadell have decided to move their legal headquarters out of Catalonia amid the uncertainty caused by the region’s referendum for independence.
Caixabank has decided to relocate its base to Valencia, while Sabadell will move its base to Alicante.
Banco Sabadell, which has 2,800 branches and a customer base of over 11 million in Spain, said that the move will not involve transfer of staff.
“Banco Sabadell will continue to carry on its business as usual to attend to the companies and families throughout all the territories in which it operates, under the supervision of the European Central Bank and the regulations of the European Banking Authority,” the lender said in a statement.
The move by the two banks comes after a decree issued by the Spanish cabinet that will ease the process for firms to move their base away from Catalonia without prior approval of shareholders.
“Since a priority for any financial institution is the protection of its clients, shareholders and employees, its Board of Directors has unanimously decided, with the objective of fully safeguarding the legal and regulatory security inherent to its activity, in light of the current political and social situation in Catalonia to: Adopt all necessary measures to move its registered office to 2 – 4 Pintor Sorolla Street in Valencia,” Caixabank said in a statement.

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