‘Let’s talk’ rallies across Spain seek to defuse Catalan crisis

Bloomberg

Demonstrators dressed in white gathered outside city halls in Barcelona, Madrid and across Spain on Saturday to demand that sparring sides in the country’s constitutional crisis move back from the brink. “Let’s talk” said the banners and flags at Sant Jaume square in Barcelona and around Madrid’s Cibeles fountain. The words, written in Spanish and Catalonian, were the top-trending social-media hashtag in Spain as people tweeted photos of the seas of white.
“It’s time to talk and find a way out—I don’t need to carry a flag. This isn’t a political movement, it’s a citizen movement,” Nuria Lliteras, a 52-year-old teacher, said at the Barcelona rally.
Time may be running out. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont is negotiating the text of a declaration of independence with his group’s more radical partner, El Mundo newspaper has reported. He’s scheduled to brief the regional parliament on Tuesday, the first step towards a formal declaration. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, meantime, is resisting calls from his main ally in Madrid to suspend the Catalan government, according to a person familiar with their talks.
As both sides plotted their next move before next week’s likely showdown, the focus was on the financial toll secession talk was taking. The board of CaixaBank SA, the biggest symbol of the rebel region’s wealth and economic clout, decided to relocate its legal base.
“It’s very sad what we are seeing, the departure of extremely important companies from Catalonia,” Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said in Madrid. “This isn’t the fault of the companies. It’s clearly the fault of irresponsible policy which at the end of the day generates uncertainty and anxiety.” Puigdemont risks economic damage and being cast adrift by Europe if he pushes ahead with his secession plans based on a referendum that breached Spain’s constitution.

Catalonia crisis takes its toll as companies bolt for the exit
Bloomberg

Spanish drugmaker Oryzon Genomics SA was the first listed company to announce that it’s moving out of Catalonia. Others soon followed.
At least three of the seven Catalonia-based companies in Spain’s Ibex-35 index have announced that they are moving their registered offices out of the rebellious region. As the secessionists threaten a formal declaration of independence, here’s a list of companies that have announced exits or are looking at one.
Banco Sabadell SA, the board of Catalonia’s second-biggest bank said it will move its registered office to Alicante, in the neighbouring region of Valencia. Oryzon Genomics SA, the biotechnology company is moving its legal domicile to Madrid because it needs certainty in its relationships, Chairman Carlos Buesa said. Dogi International Fabrics, the textile company’s board agreed to start process of moving its legal domicile to Madrid. Service Point Solutions SA, the document management company announced that it was moving its legal domicile to Madrid. Naturhouse Health SAU, the cosmetic and health company said it was moving its registered office from Barcelona to Madrid. At the time, the company said the relocation was due to operational causes. Codorniu SA, the sparkling wine maker said it has contingency plans in place. Gas Natural SDG SA, the energy distributor’s board agreed to move its registered office to Madrid. CaixaBank SA, Catalonia’s largest bank announced that it was transferring its registered office to the city of Valencia, down the coast from the secessionist region. Criteria Caixa SAU, the investment holding company for the Caixa Foundation announced that it’s moving its registered office to the city Palma de Mallorca. The group holds stakes in Gas Natural and Abertis, among others.