Bankia S A : has reached a strategic agreement with Cecabank for the transfer of its institutional fund depository business

• Participants of Bankia's pension and investment funds will have an independent depositary as an additional guarantee in the management of their wealth
• The transmission price is 170 million euros plus variable charges based on objectives
• The conclusion of the operation is planned for before the end of this financial period, once the mandatory authorisations are obtained

Bankia has reached an agreement with Cecabank to transfer its institutional investment fund depository activity, SICAV and pension funds, totalling 26,000 million euros. This amount will lead to the total equity deposited with Cecabank to exceed 160 billion euros, confirming its position as the consolidator of the Spanish depository market.

With this decision, Bankia adopts the general trend to separate the depository activity from marketing and management, which provides greater security for investors and investment fund participants, as well as meeting the best market standards.

The price to be charged by Bankia in this transfer is 170 million euros, although additional charges may be added to this figure throughout the term of the contract depending on the fulfilment of certain objectives set out in the business plan.

The agreement provides that Cecabank will manage Bankia's institutional depository business for a period of 10 years.

The conclusion of the operation is planned is expected to take place before the end of this financial period, once the mandatory authorisations are obtained.

'It is a pleasure for Bankia to announce this agreement with a benchmark partner in the depository sector as is Cecabank, which last year was acknowledged for the third consecutive year as 'Best Custodial Bank of Spain', stated the Deputy General Manager of Bankia Assets and Investees, Fernando Sobrini.

With this operation, 'Bankia will be aligning with the best practices in the sector, which advise on the separation of depository and management activities into different groups. In this way, we focus on the asset management side of the business, in which we have more than 30 years' experience, and we can offer our customers a differential service', added Sobrini.

José María Méndez, CEO of Cecabank, believes that 'this operation falls within our strategic approach to establishing long-term relationships with our customers. Our contribution is based on high specialisation in an activity that is experiencing an increase in demand and regulatory burden, and independence, since Cecabank does not provide retail services nor does it provide management services for third-party assets'.