Santander and CaixaBank yesterday formally declared an interest in the auction of CAM (Caja de Mediterraneo) by the Bank of Spain.

In the absence of any other known bidders, Santander and CaixaBank have now emerged as favourites to win the auction, simply because of their market positions, free capital and experience in the Spanish banking sector. 

Both institutions have sufficient capacity to comfortably acquire a giant financial institution like CAM bank and are very conscious of the benefits of adding CAM clients to their branch networks.