Gelonghui May 9| Spain's second-largest bank by assets has launched a hostile takeover offer worth more than $12 billion for smaller rival Banco de SabadellpalacearcadeThis suggests that Europe's long-depressed banking industry may experience a recovery in trading activity. However, the move immediately drew criticism from Spain's economy minister, highlighting the fact that large mergers among banks often come with huge political obstacles. A few days ago, Sabadell's board of directors rejected BBVA's all-share offer. BBVA first tried to acquire the bank four years ago. Apart from UBS's bailout acquisition of Credit Suisse, there have been few deals between European banks in recent years as the industry has struggled to cope with the impact of the economic crisis, negative interest rates, the COVID-19 epidemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
