A PYMNTS Company

Spain’s CNMC Approves Bank Acquisition With Conditions

By  |  June 30, 2021

Spain’s competition watchdog, the CNMC, on Tuesday, June 29, approved the acquisition of Liberbank by Unicaja, though the merged lender will have to accept several concessions in its retail-banking arm in an area in western Spain, it stated.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The new entity need not divest any of its businesses, a CNMC spokesperson said. In December, Unicaja agreed to buy Liberbank for around €763 million (US$908.20 million) to create Spain’s fifth-biggest domestic bank with total assets of around €110 billion.

    We’d love to be your preferred source for news.

    Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!

    Add as Preferred Source

    The merger, part of a banking industry consolidation in Spain and Europe, will reduce Spain’s banks to 10 from 55 prior to the 2008 economic crisis.

    The CNMC stated the new entity would not command an effective monopoly in western area of Caceres, but cited some risk for customers in three postal codes in this province, such as higher fees for Liberbank clients.

    To address this, Unicaja will offer its products for three years on the same terms as those in areas where it competes the most.

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