European Commission warns Spanish PM not to block bank merger

According to the European Commission, the Spanish government has no authority to block the merger between BBVA and Banco Sabadell.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has made it clear from the day the plan for the banking merger was announced that he is against it.
Competition authority CNMC gave the green light to the merger at the end of April, because there is no question of impoverishment of the banking landscape.

The Spanish government is not authorised to block the merger of the banks BBVA and Banco Sabadell, the European Commission believes. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is under pressure from two Catalan parties that he needs for a parliamentary majority to keep Banco Sabadell independent. According to Sánchez, the merger threatens to leave too few different banks, which the Spanish competition authority CNMC denies.