WiZink returned to profit in August for the first time since 2023. Iheb Nafaa is leaving the bank for personal reasons, after little more than three years as chief executive. The timing puts the lender at a sensitive point: it is also discussing a possible sale of its credit-card division to Unicaja.
Joaquim Saurina will become chief executive while keeping his role as chairman of the board, which is controlled by US fund Värde. WiZink has notified the Bank of Spain and will not seek an outside replacement. Its strategy runs through 2029, and all nine current executive committee members will stay.
The handover is designed to keep the bank on its current course. Expansión and Jornal Económico describe Saurina's appointment as combining the executive and board roles while leaving the bank's five-year plan unchanged.
Nafaa's financial record helps explain that approach. WiZink recorded losses of close to €75 million across 2024 and 2025, largely due to balance-sheet provisions linked to inherited litigation over revolving cards. Europa Press reported a loss of €3.07 million in the first half of 2026, 55% lower than a year earlier. In August, the lender returned to profit and 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.
WiZink's solvency also improved during Nafaa's tenure. Its capital ratio rose from 15% when he arrived to 19% now, while ordinary CET1 capital remained broadly at the same level. The bank has about 2,500 depositors and around 1.5 million customers in Spain and Portugal.
The bank no longer relies 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 launched, WiZink leads the credit-card market.
WiZink has also shifted toward 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, and 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 and profitability while cutting costs. That approach fits with earlier banking analysis of how Spanish lenders are using technology to protect and strengthen their operations.
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 see it as an asset. El Confidencial reported that talks with Unicaja concern selected assets or a defined business perimeter, and may not involve a sale of 100% of WiZink. The negotiations form part of the lender's broader repositioning in consumer finance and car lending, alongside its business in Portugal. 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 and 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 leaves this period with stronger earnings and higher capital, alongside a more varied business than the one Nafaa inherited. The handover leaves risks tied to revolving-card litigation and regulatory uncertainty in place, while avoiding a management break as 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, as the change already under way continues.
