More than 123,000 BBVA clients opened accounts with Banco Sabadell in the midst of uncertainty due to the failed takeover bid

Customer dancing is one of the most common side effects of bank mergers. He cost of gaining size usually entails short-term the loss of up to a tenth of the users, who go in search of another entity both to avoid possible duplication in case they have a relationship with both banks and because they want to cut off the relationship and find a new one. Although most departures usually occur at the time of integration, the noise generated in the previous months causes some scares.

In the specific case of BBVA’s failed takeover bid for Sabadell, the process has cost it a point percentage in market share as leading bank this 2025, with which it returns to 2023 levels. However, when analyzing the total penetration, it registers a slight increase of one tenth, up to 26.9% with which it consolidates its position as the second entity in Spain behind CaixaBank (37.9%); The increase in Sabadell Bankwhich goes from 10.2% to 10.6%.

In this context, it is striking that 1.2% of BBVA clients have given up registration in the last year with Banco Sabadell. In number they represent some 123,021 people, practically more than double the number of users who have taken the path in reverse. According to the report ‘Financial behavior of individuals in Spain 2025’prepared by the consulting firm Inmark, a total of 60,596 clients of the Catalan group have opened accounts in the group of Basque origin, 1.5% of the total.

The information has been collected from a sample of 12,000 interviews carried out between April and June of this 2025. However, it is unknown whether these users have maintained the relationship with the two entities or have unsubscribed when formalizing their relationship with the other bank, as well as the reasons why they have decided to become customers of the competition.

One of the main criticisms of this frustrated merger attempt has been its extension in time for almost a year and a half, in which both the team headed by Carlos Torres and the one chaired by Josep Oliu “they could have made better use” of their energies in other directions, as defended by the governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá.

Last spring, BBVA hoped to attract more than one million customers in Spain throughout this year, which would triple its growth rate. CaixaBank, Banco Santander and Sabadell at the national level. Taking into account all the markets in which it has a presence, the group has attracted more than 5.7 million customers, an amount that also includes its market in Spain. In the case of Banco Sabadell, which does not offer growth data for new clients, it has set itself as a goal within its strategic plan 2025-2027 increase the pace of customer acquisition by 15%, a figure that they predict will rise to 30% in the case of those attracted through digital channels.

The last few months, which have been marred by the escalation of verbal tension between the domes of BBVA and Banco Sabadellits commercial strategy has focused on squeezing the war out of accounts. In the case of Sabadell, its star product has been the remunerated account with an interest of 2% APR with a Maximum balance to be paid of 20,000 euros. In addition, after the improved offer, the promotion includes 400 euros as a ‘gift’ for new users who deposit the payroll or pension account for a minimum amount of 1,000 euros, plus an additional 3% bonus of all electricity and gas bills without quantity limit.

Along these lines, BBVA has in recent months sharpened its desire to grow among individuals in Spain through its commission-free digital account, which ‘rewards’ up to 760 euros as long as a minimum payroll of 800 euros is domicileduse Bizum or pay bills from this account. The entity led by Carlos Torres launched this plan last month of July and will be available until next January 8, currently being one of the entities that offers the most money.