President of Sabadell, Josep Olíuclaimed this Thursday “solidity and balance” balance sheet of the business dealing with market turbulence -such as the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the situation of Credit Suisse- collected from new bank taxdescribed as “unfair” And “discriminatory“for the industry.
He expressed this in his speech at the meeting. general assembly of shareholders Held at the Alicante Provincial Assembly Auditorium this Thursday, one of the key issues on his agenda was the re-election of Oliu as director of the organization and therefore his continuing as non-executive chairman of the bank for another four years.
After describing the last year as “very good”, the asset 859 million won, The banker remembered 62% more of the war-induced recession that erupted in Ukraine, which triggered inflation and slowed economic growth. A situation that has caused central banks around the world to raise interest rates rapidly, leading to what has been described as: “periods of instability”With reference to what happened with SVB and Credit Suisse.
But, as he did in a press conference this Wednesday before the meeting, Oliu insisted minimize the potential impact Turbulence in Spanish banking and especially in Sabadell. “The strength and balance of our balance sheet and the earnings expectations we see, experiencing general movements of restlessness From the markets of these last days from a strong and secure position“, assured the Catalan.
Thus, he said, despite the uncertainty, the bank maintains its goal of “reaching sustainable profitability in the context of normalized interest rates that exceed the cost of capital and are close to current interest rates”. In this way, Sabadell’s “a little A very positive outlook for 2023‘ and the ‘balance of solvency and risk’ of its balance sheet puts the bank ‘in a good position to face any challenges that may arise’.
bank tax
In this context, Josep Oliu referred to the new tax that the Government will impose for the benefit of banks and energy companies for two years. A qualified tax “unfair” with “discrimination against savers investing in bank stocks Compared to those investing in shares of other sectors that benefit or suffer equally from macroeconomic changes”.
“bank shareholders For 10 years we have endured the consequences of an extraordinary monetary policy.brought our returns to levels insufficient to adequately recoup the invested capital,” he recalled, referring to the negative rate situation in recent years. It therefore justified Sabadell’s decision to appeal the tax.
To strengthen his arguments, Oliu recalled the efforts made by organizations to facilitate the access of liquidity to families and companies during the COVID crisis, or the role the industry plays in the distribution of ICOs.
re-election
In his first speech, Oliu also mentioned his re-election as manager, which will allow him to continue to lead the side as follows: non-executive president for four more years. “I reiterate my long view with this re-election. loyaltyThat was the case with my family, the bank, and its shareholders,” he said, before recalling the development of the organization in recent years, which Sabadell “has managed to become one of the cornerstones of Spanish banking, starting from being a solid, fundamentally regional presence at an international level”.
As he stated, the banker believes the coming years will be the “base” for the asset’s consolidation. “I hope to be able to contribute as before with my best knowledge in the service of customers and shareholders”, concluded this topic.
Sabadell’s board of directors also supplementary dividend Two cents per share added to the other two cents interim dividends distributed in December 2022. share buyback program It will distribute 50% of its total profits to its shareholders, for an amount of up to 204 million.