MADRID: Big banks threatened to abandon Catalonia over vows by regional leaders to break away from Spain after the national government rejected calls for mediation in the volatile standoff.
With Catalan leaders warning they could proclaim independence in the tourist-friendly region as early as Monday, the economic stakes were rising in Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.
Catalonia is the country’s richest region, accounting for a fifth of Spain’s economy and home to thousands of domestic and foreign companies employing millions of people.
Spain’s fifth-biggest bank Sabadell was set to discuss whether to shift its legal domicile away from Catalonia in response to the crisis, a spokesman said.
Catalan lender Sabadell, the second-biggest bank in the northeastern region, saw its stocks plunge by 10 percent this week as the rhetoric between Barcelona and Madrid intensified.
Sabadell executives called a board meeting yesterday to discuss a possible shift of domicile.
Media reports said Catalonia’s biggest bank, CaixaBank, was also considering shifting its legal domicile away from the region.
If Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont follows through on his threat to declare independence next week, Spain could respond by suspending Catalonia’s existing autonomous status and imposing direct rule from Madrid.
That could fan unrest in a region already shocked by a violent police crackdown against unarmed voters in Sunday’s independence referendum.
The EU has urged dialogue to ease the standoff, but the sides dug into their positions on Thursday.
The tone sharpened with Puigdemont accusing Spain’s King Felipe VI of siding with the government in the crisis and “ignoring” the Catalan people.
Shocking images of police beating voters with batons, or dragging them by the hair on Sunday sparked international concern.
European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans on Wednesday defended Madrid’s right to “the proportionate use of force” to keep the peace.
But he said it was “time to talk, finding a way out of the impasse.”
With its own language and cultural traditions, claims for independence in Catalonia date back centuries but have surged during recent years of economic crisis.
But Spanish media coverage on Thursday was dominated by concerns for the eurozone’s fourth biggest economy.
Leading daily El Pais headlined that the stock market drop was “the worst since Brexit” was approved in a June 2016 referendum.
International credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s announced it may downgrade the sovereign debt rating of Catalonia in the next three months.
“We see a risk that this escalation may damage the coordination and communication between the two governments, which is essential to Catalonia’s ability to service its debt on time and in full,” it said.
The overall Ibex 35 index of leading Spanish shares recovered slightly by about one percent in midday trading on Thursday, following a sharp fall of nearly three percent the day before.
Catalan authorities claim that out of the 2.2 million people who voted on Sunday, 90 percent backed independence although turnout was around 42 percent.
Catalonia crisis hits banking sector
Catalonia crisis hits banking sector
Aramco’s 13% rally helps Saudi stocks post second weekly gain
RIYADH: Saudi Aramco extended its year-to-date rally to nearly 13 percent on Thursday, helping the Kingdom’s benchmark stock index secure a second straight weekly gain despite a weaker final trading session.
Saudi Aramco shares, which carry the heaviest weighting on the Saudi Exchange, closed at SR26.86 ($7.16), leaving the stock 12.72 percent higher since the start of 2026. The stock also remained 3.09 percent above last week’s close, even after falling 1.1 percent in Thursday’s session.
The rise in energy shares came as escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, after attacks on tankers in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz heightened concerns over supply disruptions.
The Tadawul All Share Index maintained its weekly uptrend, rising nearly 1.07 percent week on week to close at 10,778.32, despite falling 0.45 percent in Thursday’s session. Compared with the first trading day of the year, the index has gained 4.01 percent.
Total trading turnover on the benchmark index reached SR5.05 billion at Thursday’s close, with 88 stocks advancing and 176 declining.
Aramco’s performance continued to anchor sentiment after the company reported adjusted net income of $104.7 billion for 2025 earlier this week, while net profit fell 12.1 percent year on year to $93.39 billion, compared with $106.25 billion in 2024, as lower crude prices weighed on earnings despite higher sales volumes across oil, gas and refined products.
On a March 10 earnings call, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could have severe implications for global energy markets. Roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil normally passes through the waterway each day, but shipments have been largely blocked.
“There would be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil markets and the longer the disruption goes on ... the more drastic the consequences for the global economy,” he said.
“While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced.”
Saudi equities showed mixed performance in Thursday’s session. The MSCI Tadawul Index fell 5.99 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,476.76.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 132.47 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 22,370.4, with 38 stocks advancing and 34 declining.
On March 11, the International Energy Agency announced the release of 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the largest such move in its history. As part of that, the US said it would release 172 million barrels starting next week.
