Caixa flirts with sale of Repsol stake in signal of readiness to streamline assets

Spain's powerful Caixa group has given the clearest signal yet that it is ready to streamline its industrial assets - a move that could include a sale of its 12 per cent stake in Repsol and a stock market listing for the bulk of its other shareholdings.

"We may decide to sell the stake in Repsol," Isidro Faine, the chairman of both Caixa and its banking arm, said in an interview. He described the holding in the oil and gas company as "a solid and liquid asset that is providing revenue and diversification", but stressed that it was "not strategic".

Mr Faine suggested he was also keen to draw a clearer line between the Caixa group and its other industrial holdings. Under the current structure, the Repsol stake and a 5 per cent holding in Telefonica are directly part of Caixabank, while the rest of the group's industrial stakes sit with a holding that is owned by the Caixa foundation, which controls a majority stake in the bank.

Caixa's industrial portfolio is by far the biggest in Spain, and has given the Catalan group and its chairman unrivalled influence. It includes a 34 per cent stake in Gas Natural, worth about €7.5bn, and a 19 per cent stake in Abertis, worth €3.1bn, along with stakes in Suez of France and several smaller Spanish companies.

However, Mr Faine said: "I have always had the idea of placing the holding on the stock market … That is a project that is in my head, but it will depend on the board's decision."

Although he stressed that no decision was imminent, such a shake up would mark the most significant move yet towards disentangling the complex web of shareholdings amassed by Caixa over the years. A sale of the Repsol stake would also go a long way towards turning Caixabank, which still relies heavily on dividend income from its holdings, into a pure-play retail bank.

Caixabank's holding in Telefonica, however, is likely to be exempted from any shake-up, reflecting the conviction inside the lender that the trend towards digital banking will allow it to reap synergies from a stake in one of Europe's largest mobile companies.

Caixabank has long been one of the most acquisitive banks in Spain, and Mr Faine would not rule out further takeovers in its home market. "I am like the cat waiting outside the mouse hole. Everything is possible," he said.

In the past, the Catalan lender has tried to buy Banco Popular, Spain's sixth-largest lender. In early 2012, it also held talks over a possible takeover of Bankia, the savings bank that collapsed only months later, forcing the Spanish government to negotiate a €100bn banking bailout with the EU. The 2012 turmoil led to the disappearance of dozens of banks, but Mr Faine said he thought further concentration was on the way.

"I think the Spanish banking market will simplify, just like the others. Now there are 14 banks, and I think it will shrink to six or seven," he said.

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