Banco Sabadell: legal advice at the heart of the takeover bid
Gonzalo Barettino Coloma, secretary general and head of legal services, explains how the general secretariat is structured, the role of the legal department in the takeover bid and the transformation of legal services
by julia gil
“Probably the most complex operation of the last 20 years.” With this phrase, Gonzalo Barettino Coloma sums up the takeover bid that marked a turning point for Banco Sabadell and his own professional career. The process, launched in May 2024 and culminating in 2025 with the rejection of the shareholders, required a particularly delicate legal and strategic response, coordinated by a small core group made up of the communications, finance and strategy departments and the legal department, together with the general secretariat, while the rest of the organisation maintained the normal pace of business. For Barettino, regardless of the outcome, it was a unique experience from a professional point of view.
Currently general secretary and head of legal services at Banco Sabadell, Barettino has spent virtually his entire career within the group. After founding his own law firm and working as an external lawyer for Banco de Asturias — then part of the NatWest group — it was the late Eduardo Méndez-Villaamil, whom he remembers with affection and who was then general secretary, who suggested he join the company full-time. At just 27 years of age, he took on the role of general secretary and, shortly afterwards, that of board lawyer. Banco Sabadell’s purchase of NatWest’s business in Spain in 1996 marked the beginning of a career that would consolidate within what is now the fourth largest private banking group in the country.
Since then, Barettino has promoted the creation of the legal department in Madrid, subsequently headed the internal legal department in Barcelona and, in 2004, with the incorporation of María José García Beato (editor’s note: former Secretary General of Banco Sabadell and current director), he assumed responsibility for key areas such as regulatory compliance, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, the seeds of the current ESG function. After returning to the legal department, in 2021 he was appointed general secretary and deputy secretary of the board of directors.
Under his leadership, a team of 150 professionals— which integrates traditional legal functions with areas such as the president’s office…
