Banco Sabadell was the brainchild of Spanish textile barons and started life in a city that is nicknamed the Catalan Manchester.
Founded in 1881, it was set up by a consortium of 127 companies. Today Sabadell, 12 miles (20km) northwest of Barcelona, is a stark contrast to its more fashionable neighbour on the coast. A heavily industrialised city of about 200,000 people, it cannot boast the nightlife and pazazz of the Catalan capital. However, Banco Sabadell has transformed itself from being a local lender to Spain’s fourth-biggest bank.
It began its metamorphosis in 1965 with a strategy to establish itself as a serious regional player. Ten years later it branched out across Spain and opened its first international branch, in London, in 1978.
Sabadell is not quite the same family affair as Banco Santander. However, its expansion was presided over by Joan Oliu, who led the bank from 1977 to 1991, when his son, Josep Oliu, took over as president.
The bank had enjoyed the financial support of powerful Spanish business figures, including Isak Andic, chairman of the Mango fashion chain. They spent millions on shares when the price was high before the Spanish property bubble burst in 2008. When the bank’s share price dipped during the crisis, they lost heavily.
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Sabadell weathered Spain’s deep economic malaise through a succession of takeovers of smaller or struggling banks within Spain.
Unlike its rivals, Sabadell has not been dogged by the corruption scandals that tarnished several Spanish savings banks during the downturn.
The bank was boosted last year when Jaime Gilinski Bacal, the London-based Colombian billionaire banker, and David Martínez, the Mexican investor, took big stakes.
Mr Gilinski invested €700 million for a 7.5 per cent stake in the bank, which made him the biggest shareholder.