Sabadell's return will be a boost for Catalonia, regional leader says

By Jesús Aguado, David Latona and Joan Faus

MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) -The return of Spanish bank Sabadell's headquarters to Catalonia will be a boost for the region after years of political turmoil, Socialist regional leader Salvador Illa said on Wednesday.

The bank will be the first big company to return to Catalonia after thousands left following a failed independence bid in October 2017.

"This is good news, and I think it confirms that we are on the right path towards institutional stability and legal security," Illa told reporters.

He spoke before a Sabadell board meeting approved moving the legal headquarters from Alicante.

The bank has cited its importance to the regional economy as a reason for investors to reject a hostile takeover bid from rival BBVA, which they did in May. BBVA is still seeking to buy the bank.

Last year, Illa - from Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist Party - became head of the Catalan government, ending more than a decade of separatist rule.

Sabadell moved its legal headquarters to Alicante at a time of uncertainty over whether separatists would succeed in a drive for independence.

Many other companies also left and Catalonia found itself overtaken by Madrid as the Spanish region with the highest GDP.

Caixabank also moved its legal headquarters from the region. On Wednesday, a Caixabank spokesperson said its domicile was in Valencia "on an indefinite basis and is not under review".

Had Catalonia seceded from Spain, banks in the region would no longer have been supervised by the European Central Bank, whose deposit insurance scheme protects customers.

The return, by contrast, would not affect banking operations for its customers, Sabadell said in a statement.

The head of Catalonia's largest business lobby Foment del Treball, Josep Sanchez Llibre, has long encouraged companies to return to the region.

He described Sabadell's return as "great news for Catalonia" and predicted others would follow.

A source with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the idea to move back to Catalonia came from within the bank and did not involve political parties.

GAME OF CHESS

It was unclear if the move would have any bearing on BBVA's ongoing bid. Analysts said, however, it could be seen as an attempt by Sabadell to shore up government support against a tie-up.

"This is another move in a chess game to gain favour or political support," said Nuria Alvarez, an analyst at Madrid-based brokerage Renta 4.

The Spanish government cannot stop Sabadell shareholders from swapping their shares for those of BBVA, but it has the power to block a full merger.

On Wednesday, shares in Sabadell and BBVA fell around 0.8%.

In November, Spain's competition watchdog said BBVA's all-share offer had to undergo a longer antitrust review that could extend the process well into 2025.

A BBVA spokesperson said that it would respect Sabadell's decision, which would not change the benefits of the deal.

"It (the deal) is good for Spain, for Catalonia and for the rest of the territories where Sabadell is located, as well as for the customers, employees and shareholders of both banks," BBVA said.

Spain's Economy minister Carlos Cuerpo said Sabadell's potential move "makes a lot of sense because the normalisation process that has taken place in Catalonia means that the conditions that led to their departure have disappeared".

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado, David Latona and Joan Faus; Editing by Inti Landauro, Jan Harvey, Mark Potter, Charlie Devereux and Barbara Lewis)