Iheb Nafaa is leaving WiZink for personal reasons. President Joaquim Saurina will take over as the bank continues talks with Unicaja after another loss-making first half.
Contacts between WiZink and Unicaja have run at least since April. No deal has been announced. The talks remain open.
Iheb Nafaa has left the chief executive role for personal reasons. President Joaquim Saurina is taking over his executive duties. The change puts him in charge during discussions about a possible operation between the two banks.
El Confidencial and Europa Press describe the contacts as ongoing. Neither has reported a binding agreement or a final decision.
Unicaja has reportedly engaged PwC as financial adviser and Uría Menéndez as legal adviser in connection with the potential operation involving WiZink.
This is familiar territory for Saurina.
He previously took on executive duties during an earlier transition, before Nafaa arrived in 2023. Saurina also worked with Nafaa on the strategic plan that WiZink is now carrying out.
His return keeps the bank's management on its existing path. It also gives him responsibility for an unresolved corporate discussion. The president is now handling both roles.
WiZink's financial position remains difficult. The bank posted a net loss of 3.07 million euros in the first half of 2026. The loss was 55% lower than in the same period a year earlier, according to Banco de España statistics reviewed by Europa Press.
Unicaja has previously described the contacts as preliminary conversations, or conversaciones preliminares. Public reports have not established whether the discussions concern 100% of WiZink or only part of its consumer-finance or card business.
The smaller loss did not come with higher revenue. Gross margin, used here as the measure of total income, reached 146.3 million euros between January and June. That was down 1.6% from a year earlier.
Net interest income fell 0.4% to 131 million euros. Net commission income dropped 10% to 14.8 million euros.
The numbers set the business context for the handover. WiZink is cutting its losses, but total income and commission revenue are both lower. The bank focuses on consumer credit and runs its strategic plan across Spain and Portugal.
Execution now matters.
The publication has also covered leadership departures in other fields through its earlier coverage. The WiZink case is different in its immediate corporate setting. The departing executive is the CEO, and the president is taking control while Unicaja talks continue.
Saurina has described his appointment as a commitment to continuity and to the existing roadmap. He is expected to focus on the strategic plan, customers and sustainable growth in Spain and Portugal.
No change to the plan or the negotiations has been announced. WiZink is entering this phase with authority concentrated in one person, not with a declared change of strategy.
The lower loss is a real improvement. Falling income and commission revenue still point to pressure on the business. With the Unicaja talks unresolved, Saurina's appointment is a continuity measure at a sensitive point for the bank. It is not evidence that a deal has been reached.
