WiZink CEO Iheb Nafaa has left the bank for personal reasons. Chairman Joaquim Saurina will take over his functions as talks with Unicaja continue without a reported agreement.
Since at least April 2026, WiZink and Unicaja have been discussing a possible corporate operation. The talks have produced no public agreement or completed transaction.
Iheb Nafaa has now left WiZink for personal reasons. Chairman Joaquim Saurina will assume his functions. The change puts an experienced executive back in charge while the negotiations continue.
Пока неясно, будет ли возможная операция с Unicaja касаться всего WiZink или только части его бизнеса.
Saurina already knows the bank. He held executive responsibilities at WiZink during an earlier transition, before Nafaa arrived in 2023. He later worked with Nafaa on the strategic plan now being carried out.
That makes the handover a direct management response, not a stated change in strategy. Saurina has described his return as a move built around continuity. He pointed to WiZink's existing plan, its team and its business in Spain and Portugal. The focus, he said, would stay on execution, customers and sustainable growth.
The bank is also dealing with a difficult financial picture. WiZink recorded a loss of 3.07 million euros in the first half of 2026, according to Banco de España statistics cited by Europa Press. The loss was 55% smaller than in the same period a year earlier.
Комиссионный доход оказался наиболее слабым элементом динамики: он сократился на 10% за год, тогда как чистый процентный доход снизился на 0,4%. Это указывает на сохраняющееся давление на отдельные источники выручки даже при сокращении убытка.
The income figures show where the pressure remains. Total income, also called gross margin, reached 146.3 million euros between January and June. That was down 1.6% from a year earlier.
Net interest income stood at 131 million euros after falling 0.4%. Net commission income dropped 10% to 14.8 million euros.
The numbers put the management handover and the Unicaja talks side by side. WiZink must carry out its current strategy while negotiations continue over its ownership or wider corporate future.
The available information does not show that Nafaa's departure is tied to the talks. WiZink has attributed the exit to personal reasons.
There is a related point. Saurina knows the institution and the plan already in place. The possible operation with Unicaja remains unfinished.
Readers seeking a broader view of leadership departures in another sector can find an earlier departure story. Its circumstances are unrelated.
WiZink now has continuity at the top, but its corporate future remains open. The smaller half-year loss does not erase the fall in total income or the weaker commission business. Saurina must manage the current plan while the Unicaja question remains unresolved.
