Spain

There has been much talk about cross-border bank mergers in Europe, but so far none have happened or appear to be imminent. A few years ago Garrigues recommended that banks watch out for them in the future. Now the European supervisors are calling for them to be carried out and even trying to make them easier. But for the time being the bank concentration process is still taking place within each member state. This is currently being seen in Italy, with the acquisition of UBI Banca by Intesa Sanpaolo, and in Spain, with the merger of Caixabank and Bankia. It is not happening across borders. In this series of three articles we will try to identify and reflect on a number of legal factors that may partly explain this situation.

The personal income tax legislation allows credits to be applied against the tax payable by individuals who make investments either directly or through a legal entity (e.g. through the formation of companies, capital increases, etc.).

Royal Decree-Law 34/2020, of November 17, 2020, on urgent measures to support the solvency of businesses and support the energy sector, and in the tax field (“RDL 34/2020”) published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on November 18, 2020, broadens the suspension regime to include investments from the European Union or European Free Trade Association countries and amends certain components of the suspension of the deregulation regime for other direct foreign investments. The new legislation will come into force on November 19, 2010.

The European Council decided to update the list of non cooperative tax jurisdictions, at a meeting on October 6, 2020.