The headquarters of the Spanish bank BBVA are seen in Madrid, Spain. Talk of a tie-up between Spain's second and fourth-largest banks comes almost four years after previous negotiations collapsed. The potential merger follows a period of consolidation in the sector as Spanish banks seek to cut costs and boost scale. For BBVA, a tie-up would boost its domestic business and increase lending to small and medium-sized companies, where Sabadell is strong. Spain's Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo told Spanish news agency EFE that it was essential to preserve a competitive landscape in the financial sector.

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Persons: BBVA's, Onur Genc, Carlos Torres, Joaquin Robles, JP Morgan, Carlos Cuerpo, EFE Organizations: BBVA, Sabadell, XTB, Unicaja, UBS, JPMorgan Locations: Spanish, Madrid, Spain, Santander's