Illa, on the takeover bid: "I'd rather it didn't go ahead for many reasons."

The president was terse when assessing the transaction at the closing of the annual meeting of the Economic Circle.

"I would prefer it not go ahead for many reasons." This is the hope expressed this Wednesday by the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa , regarding the outcome of BBVA's hostile takeover bid for Banco Sabadell.

The regional leader made this statement at the closing ceremony of the annual meeting of the Economic Circle , the day after the Ministry of Economy launched a public consultation for entities, associations, and citizens to give their opinion to the government on whether it should authorize or block the integration.

Illa expressed this opinion before a business audience, which included, among others, two of the main protagonists of the takeover bid: the president of BBVA, Carlos Torres , and the president of Banco Sabadell, Josep Oliu . Both were also in the room when Sánchez announced the call for a public consultation last Monday, which caused a strong surprise among the audience.

Facing the two, Illa praised Banco Sabadell's strong roots in Catalonia and added: "I think my opinion is clear, and I think it's in line with what the vast majority of the community's citizens think."

He then recalled that it is now up to the government to "make a decision." He also defended the public consultation called by the government, as Economy Minister Alícia Romero did last Monday.

The president has been critical of the merger on several occasions. He made this clear in an interview with EXPANSIÓN at the beginning of February. "We would like Banco Sabadell to be able to continue on its path," he stated at the time.

Hours before the closing of the meeting of the Circle, in the plenary session of the Parliament , several groups took advantage of the session of control of the Government to ask about its position regarding the new phase that the takeover bid has entered with the public consultation .

In Comú Podem (the Catalan representative of Sumar), the CUP (Catalan Workers' Party) and ERC (Republican Left) took the opportunity to once again express their outright rejection of the BBVA plan going forward. They also considered Illa to have been less than forceful and to have a silent attitude.

In the face of criticism, Illa asserted that the Catalan government "will staunchly defend the interests of Catalonia ," after emphasizing that he has always been "clear" in his opposition to the merger "from day one."

"I want to say it because it's a delicate issue: I do more than I say, but I do it," the president stated. He said that the Government "is not a spectator" but rather an "actor," although "it has the leeway it has," given its limited financial powers.