Two former Banco Popular officials defend before the judge that the 2012 capital increase was "a resounding success"

They ensure that the operation was reviewed and approved by the Bank of Spain and that the clients obtained great returns

MADRID, 30 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Two former officials of the extinct Banco Popular have assured before the judge of the National Court that is investigating an alleged crime of fraud against investors or breach of the duties of information in the capital increase carried out in 2012 that this operation was "a resounding success".

Legal sources have explained to Europa Press that, in their statement as defendants before magistrate Santiago Pedraz, the former corporate and finance director of the bank Jacobo González-Robatto and the former president of the Audit Commission José Ramón Rodríguez have defended that there was no no step in the expansion without having the permission of the Bank of Spain.

In fact, González-Robatto would have recalled that it was the Bank of Spain itself that urged Popular to recapitalize as a result of the agreements signed within the European Union. The former manager, who was responsible for preparing the brochure, has defended it, assuring that it contained precise, detailed and in-depth information.

The head of the Central Court of Instruction Number 5 began to investigate last June after admitting two complaints for processing that indicated that in the capital increase there were "omissions and biased and distorted information to capture capital that otherwise would not have been possible to obtain, breaching the information duties established in order to guarantee the transparency of the stock market".

In this regard, the former finance director has stressed that the National Securities Market Commission did not make any observations on the brochure itself. In his opinion, moreover, this is unusual in this type of operation, in which the regulatory body usually makes some kind of precision or correction.

González-Robatto himself has also assured that the expansion was successful as the bank was not able to cover the demand for shares by customers. The latter, always in the words of the former manager, would have obtained great returns on their investment in the entity.

The two former directors, according to other sources, have also recalled that this operation was audited by PwC and subsequently thoroughly reviewed by Deloitte. From his point of view, this extension reflected the faithful and real image of Popular at that time, contrary to what was maintained by the complainants.

To defend the solvency of the expansion, one of the defendants argued that a person who had invested 1,000 euros in it could have obtained close to 2,500 euros at the end of 2013.

The version offered by González-Robatto and by Rodríguez coincides with the one reported last October by the former president of Banco Popular Ángel Ron, who ruled out before the magistrate that irregularities were being committed in the capital increase, defending that the brochure in which the conditions of the same were collected was "absolutely clear and transparent".

Ron then pointed out that it was the Bank of Spain that asked Popular to make "a capital increase." "And we did it: we submitted the plan to the authorization of the Bank of Spain and the European Commission, which gave it to us, and it was carried out," he said in statements to the media upon leaving the courthouse.

That same day, the judge also took a statement as investigated from the former vice president of the entity with Ron, Roberto Higuera. Before the magistrate, Higuera defended that all the operations were carried out correctly while pointing out that the annual accounts for 2012 --the year in which Banco Pastor was absorbed-- were audited by the consulting firm PwC, requesting in turn contrast to Deloitte.