Hunton & Williams LLP Represents Banco de Sabadell S.A. in Completing Mellon United National Bank Acquisition

MIAMI, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Hunton & Williams LLP represented Banco de Sabadell, S.A., Spain's fourth largest bank, in the closing of Sabadell's acquisition of Mellon United National Bank ("MUNB"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of New York Mellon Corp.  As announced last year, the stock purchase transaction involved the acquisition of all of MUNB's deposits ($1.675 billion) and $875 million in loans; that is, approximately 60 percent of MUNB's loan portfolio.  As of today, the name of MUNB will change to Sabadell United Bank, N.A.  This was Banco de Sabadell's third significant purchase transaction in the United States, following TransAtlantic Bank (May 2007) and BBVA's private banking business in Florida (April 2008).  As a result, Sabadell's total business volume in the United States is expected to be approximately $6.4 billion ($4.3 billion in managed assets and $2.1 billion in loans).

The Hunton & Williams team was led by Miami-based partner Fernando C. Alonso and David R. Yates, and involved lawyers from various offices, including Uriel A. Mendieta, Andres Cedron, Barbara Alonso and Zachary Schlichter from Miami; regulatory lawyers Zonnie Breckinridge and Stephanie Kalahurka from Austin; and Henry Talavera from Dallas.  

"This transaction shows that even in these tough economic times, foreign institutions still have confidence in the US banking sector," said Alonso. "As we've seen, Spanish banks in particular have been bullish about opportunities in Florida and the United States, generally, and Sabadell's investment is a positive statement for our community."

Sabadell's internal legal team was led by Anna Oestereicher, its US general counsel, and from Spain by the Bank's general counsel, Oriol de Nadal Alier.  The Hunton & Williams team worked closely with Bank of New York Mellon's internal counsel, led by Marcia Wallace and Becket Sorce.

"This acquisition supports Banco de Sabadell's growth plans in the US and their further belief not only in the Florida market but their continued long-term strategy in the United States," added Yates.

About Hunton & Williams LLP

Hunton & Williams LLP provides legal services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals, as well as to a broad array of other entities. Since our establishment more than a century ago, Hunton & Williams has grown to nearly 1,000 lawyers serving clients in 100 countries from 18 offices around the world. While our practice has a strong industry focus on energy, financial services and life sciences, the depth and breadth of our experience extends to more than 100 separate practice areas, including bankruptcy and creditors rights, commercial litigation, corporate transactions and securities law, intellectual property, international and government relations, regulatory law, products liability, and privacy and information management.  For additional information visit our website at www.hunton.com.

About Banco de Sabadell

Banco de Sabadell (www.bancosabadell.com) is one of Spain's largest banking groups, with a market capitalization of $11.2 billion.  It is listed in Spain's blue-chip IBEX 35 index and has one of the highest capital ratios among European banks.  Founded in 1881, Banco Sabadell currently has over 1,200 branches throughout Spain and a presence in another 19 countries through subsidiaries and operational or representative offices, notably in China, India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.  

SOURCE Hunton & Williams LLP