Iheb Nafaa is leaving WiZink for personal reasons after the bank returned to profit and strengthened its solvency. The change comes as WiZink discusses a possible card-business sale with Unicaja.
In August, WiZink returned to profit for the first time since 2023. Iheb Nafaa is now leaving the bank for strictly personal reasons after little more than three years as chief executive. The timing puts the lender at a sensitive point. It is also discussing the possible sale of its credit-card division to Unicaja.
Joaquim Saurina will become chief executive while keeping his role as chairman of the board controlled by US fund Värde. WiZink has notified the Bank of Spain. The bank will not look for an outside replacement. Its strategy will run through 2029, and all nine current executive committee members will stay.
WiZink reported a loss of €3.07 million in the first half of 2026, 55% lower than a year earlier, before returning to profit in August.
The handover is meant to keep the current course. Expansión and Jornal Económico describe Saurina's appointment as a combination of the executive and board roles. They do not present it as a change to the bank's five-year plan.
Nafaa's financial record helps explain that approach. WiZink recorded losses of close to €75 million across 2024 and 2025. Balance-sheet provisions linked to inherited litigation over revolving cards had a major effect. The loss fell to just over €3 million in the first half of this year. In August, the lender returned to profit. It expects those gains to consolidate in the coming months. Europa Press and other reports based the figures on Bank of Spain statistics and information from the bank.
That is the backdrop.
WiZink's solvency also improved during Nafaa's tenure. Its capital ratio rose from 15% when he arrived to 19% now. Ordinary CET1 capital stayed at broadly the same level. The bank has about 2,500 depositors and around 1.5 million customers in Spain and Portugal.
The talks with Unicaja are not necessarily about selling 100% of WiZink. Reports describe discussions over selected assets or a defined business perimeter, making the negotiations part of the lender’s broader repositioning in consumer finance, car lending and Portugal.
The bank is no longer reliant on Spanish credit cards alone. Around 45% of its activity now comes from consumer finance through Aplázame. WiZink also finances used-car purchases through Lendrok. In Portugal, where Aplázame has been launched, WiZink leads the credit-card market.
WiZink has also moved closer to companies and away from a business focused mainly on retail customers. The bank ended its sponsorship of the Palacio de los Deportes at the end of 2024. Movistar then took over the venue. Cost cuts continued. In 2025, WiZink closed its debt-collection division.
Technology and digitalisation are expected to support growth, cut costs and improve profitability. That approach fits with earlier banking analysis of how Spanish lenders are using technology to protect and strengthen their operations.
The talks continue.
Unicaja is Saurina's first major test. He has a close working relationship with Nafaa and previously served on José Sevilla's management team at Bankia. That gives him continuity during talks with the institution led by Isidro Rubiales.
WiZink's card business was once weighed down by litigation. Other banks may now value it as an asset. Financial sources close to the lender want clearer rules for consumer finance in Spain. Reports from September 2026 said negotiations were still under way. No completed transaction had been announced.
Nafaa will not pursue a new professional project for now. He plans to focus on personal matters. Before joining WiZink in June 2023, he led Servihabitat and Gescobro. He also held senior positions at GE Capital.
Nafaa was born in Tunisia and trained as an engineer in Statistics Econometrics and Finance at the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique in Paris. He later completed executive programmes at IESE and Singularity University in Silicon Valley.
WiZink is leaving this period with stronger earnings, higher capital and a more varied business than the one Nafaa inherited. The handover does not remove the risks tied to revolving-card litigation or regulatory uncertainty. It does avoid a management break while the Unicaja talks continue.
Saurina's return as executive chairman sets the immediate task. WiZink must protect its recovery and carry out the strategy through 2029 without losing operational control. On the available facts, Nafaa's departure looks like a continuity decision at a sensitive commercial moment. It does not look like a retreat from the transformation already under way.
