Spanish government urges Banco Santander, BBVA and CaixaBank to acquire medium-sized rivals
Spanish government has met in private the country's largest banks – Banco Santander, BBVA and CaixaBank – to encourage them to acquire medium-sized banks, El Confidencial reported.
Several sources from the three entities acknowledged informal talks with the Minister of Economy Luis de Guindos and the Governor of Bank of Spain Luis Linde, the report noted.
Santander, BBVA and CaixaBank have been asked to analyse Ibercaja, Banco Mare Nostrum, Liberbank, Unicaja, Abanca, Kutxabank and Cajamar as potential targets, the Spanish-language article said.
Banco Santander is the only one of the three that has not taken part in nationalisations and is seen as the most potential candidate to go ahead.
The report's sources, however, said there would not be any significant moves until the forthcoming general elections in Spain.