"Immediate" stock-market listing sought by Cívica

Banca Cívica on Tuesday became the latest Spanish savings bank to announce it will seek to list on the stock market in response to the government's decision to strengthen the solvency requirements for the country's lenders.

Chairman Enrique Goñi said Banca Cívica would start proceedings to float between 25 to 40 percent of the bank. "We're going to list immediately," Goñi said at a presentation of the bank's strategy. "We will begin a roadshow next week in which we'll be seeing 25 to 30 regional investors." He said the bank wants to sell closer to 40 than 25 percent of its shares to the public.

The National Securities Commission (CNMV) has reminded savings banks they must float a minimum of 25 percent of their capital, a significant part of which should be sold to professional investors.

Goñi said Banca Cívica would maintain a dividend payout of 50 percent of its earnings.

Banca Cívica was formed by the virtual merger of the regional savings banks Caja Navarra, Cajasol, Caja Canarias and Caja Burgos as part of widespread consolidation in the sector that has reduced the number of players from 45 to just over a dozen.

Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA), the commercial bank set up by the merger of Caja Madrid and six other savings banks, has also flagged its intention to list in the stock market after the government raised the minimum core capital ratio from 6 percent to 8 percent. La Caixa plans to fold its banking business into its listed arm Criteria, which will be transformed into a commercial bank under the name CaixaBank.

For savings banks without a parallel commercial bank and limited access to private funding, the government will set a minimum solvency ratio of 9-10 percent. Galician savings bank Noxacaixagalicia, which comes into that category, has sold its 2.2-percent stake in Portuguese toll-road operator Brisa for 67.3 million euros.

That came on top of the sale last week of 1.2 percent of Portuguese power group EDP-Energias de Portugal for 123.4 million euros.