Spain's BBVA and Sabadell call off merger talks

• The two banks had on Nov. 16 announced merger talks aimed at creating Spain's second-biggest domestic bank with almost 600 billion euros in assets.
• But two days later, BBVA Chief Executive Onur Genc had said he was in no rush, and that the bank would analyze everything carefully and also had other options.

The headquarters of the Spanish bank BBVA are seen in Madrid, Spain.

Juan Medina | Reuters

Spanish lenders BBVA and Banco Sabadell on Friday called off merger talks after failing to reach an agreement on the financial terms of the potential transaction.

"Banco Sabadell informs that the Board of Directors has decided to terminate the above mentioned discussions, because the parties have not achieved an agreement on the exchange ratio of both entities," Sabadell said in a statement.

The derailing of negotiations is expected to put more pressure on Sabadell, which had been seen as the weaker link in the potential transaction.

The two banks had on Nov. 16 announced merger talks aimed at creating Spain's second-biggest domestic bank with almost 600 billion euros in assets.

But two days later, BBVA Chief Executive Onur Genc had said he was in no rush, and that the bank would analyze everything carefully and also had other options.