Spain’s CaixaBank to move domicile from Catalonia

Spain's third-biggest bank CaixaBank said Friday it had decided to shift its registered domicile out of Catalonia after separatist leaders threatened to declare the region independent.

According to Press TV, CaixaBank, the biggest lender in the northeastern region, said in a statement it was moving its legal domicile to Valencia due to "the current political and social situation in Catalonia."

Final results in last weekend's banned Catalan referendum on independence from Spain showed "yes" votes winning 90.18 percent of votes cast against 7.83 percent of "no" votes, the Catalan regional government said.

The Catalan government put voter turnout at nearly 2.3 million people, or around 43 percent of registered voters.

The referendum was declared illegal by the Spanish government and courts. Catalans who favor remaining part of Spain mainly boycotted the ballot and many polling stations were closed.

ME