César González-Bueno, new CEO of Banco Sabadell

Maximum intensity at Banco Sabadell in the final stretch of the year. After breaking off negotiations to integrate into the BBVA group ---one cannot speak of a merger, because the size difference between the two entities is abysmal---, the bank now faces a change in its top management due to Jaume Guardiola's decision to retire.

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At 63 years old and with a long banking career, Guardiola had been looking for the opportune moment to make way for new leadership at the Catalan bank, where for thirteen years he has teamed up with chairman Josep Oliu. Guardiola arrived at Sabadell in 2007, succeeding Juan María Nin, and has now considered it time to leave because the bank needs to develop a new strategic plan that will allow it to continue on its own. Once retired, Guardiola will maintain his ties with the entity as chairman of Banco Sabadell Mexico.

"Since his incorporation in 2007, Jaume Guardiola has played a fundamental role as the architect of the bank's growth and consolidation, turning it into one of the best franchises in Spain. Without his work, dedication, and vision, it would be impossible to tackle this new stage," Oliu expressed.

Sabadell's board of directors this Thursday elected César González-Bueno as the new CEO. He has been dedicated to banking for more than 20 years and is well known for having founded ING Direct Spain, which in the late 90s revolutionized the sector with a new model of an entity without branches that quickly gained a good clientele thanks to innovative products such as the Cuenta Naranja.

According to sources from the entity, González-Bueno will not work from Madrid, but his intention is to lead the bank from Catalonia, that is, occupying the same offices that Guardiola had until now in the Diagonal tower in Barcelona and at the corporate headquarters in Sant Cugat del Vallès.

In parallel to this handover, there will also be changes in Josep Oliu's role. The veteran banker holds an executive chairmanship, but it is expected that next year he will step aside and leave all executive functions in the hands of the new CEO to focus on his more institutional role as chairman of the board of directors. This modification of Oliu's functions is not directly related to the CEO's replacement, but rather it is a process that has been brewing for some time and responds to a requirement from the European Central Bank, which does not want entities to have an executive chairman. This modification to separate the executive functions from the chairmanship will be approved in an upcoming board meeting, thus complying with the roadmap agreed with the European regulator.

Sabadell's new CEO was already linked to the bank, as since last March he has been a director of TSB, the entity that the financial group bought in the United Kingdom and in which it now wants to divest. Father of four children, González-Bueno, in addition to being CEO of ING in Spain and Portugal, was part of the global management committee of the Dutch bank and also led the creation and sale of EVO Banco and the refinancing of Novagalicia.

According to Banco Sabadell, the new CEO will have to design and lead a new strategic plan that will be made public during the first quarter of 2021 and whose priority objective will be to complete the digital transformation process and try not to undersell the British subsidiary. His mandate, however, may be short if Sabadell finally resumes negotiations with BBVA, a scenario that is not ruled out due to market and regulatory pressure.

According to Oliu, González-Bueno "is an ideal profile due to his successful track record leading strategic innovation, digitalization, and restructuring processes." Until the European Central Bank gives the green light to the appointment, a transition period opens, implying that González-Bueno and Guardiola will work together for several weeks.