Read in Catalan

The board of directors of Banco Sabadell, Spain's fifth-largest banking group, have, in an extraordinary meeting, decided to move their registered office to Alacant (Alicante in Spanish) given the uncertainty arising over the possible independence of Catalonia. They yesterday approved a proposal to this effect made by the entity's president, Josep Oliu.

The aim of the change of head office is to guarantee the legal security provided by the regulatory framework of the European Central Bank.

As defined in the bank's statutes, there is no need for a shareholders' meeting to approve the change.

As such, the bank is acting ahead of the Catalan Parliament's planned sessions next Monday and Tuesday, the first of which has been suspended by the Constitutional Court, which could see a unilateral declaration of independence being passed.

Alacant, Madrid or Oviedo

Among the cities that were candidates for the new headquarters were Madrid, Alacant and Oviedo. In any case, the bank's central services are to remain in Barcelona.

Sources say that the bank's liquidity hasn't been affected by the political and economic uncertainty in Catalonia, although they admit that the volatility seen recently in the stock market has caused some preoccupation within the entity.