Spain: Bank of Spain losing patience with Liberbank

The Bank of Spain has increased the pressure on troubled financial institution Liberbank, urging it to find a new entity to merge with, allowing the entity to generate profits. The main candidate, Unicaja, has encountered problems due to the demands by Liberbank head Manuel Menéndez to take control of 45% of the resulting entity.

Just a few months ago, a frustrated negotiation between both institutions was completed, where the presidents of the institutions – Manuel Azuaga from Unicaja and Manuel Menéndez from Liberbank – would have agreed to be, respectively, President and CEO of the new institution. However, this agreement was not finalized due to differences in the percentage of control.

Much of the work related to the merger has already been completed, with the impact on the workforce already known. The merger could cause the closure of 42 branches and the laying off of 2,452 employees. Together, Unicaja and Liberbank currently employ more than 10,000 workers.
Full Content: OK Diario

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.