Joaquim Saurina has been appointed CEO of WiZink following the resignation of Iheb Nafaa. The entity aims to continue its strategic plan and return to profitability after years of losses.
The resignation of Iheb Nafaa, until now CEO of WiZink, is due to family reasons, according to expansion.com. His departure was communicated to the staff this morning and is not related to the ongoing negotiation for the sale of some businesses to Unicaja.
Joaquim Saurina, who held the position of non-executive chairman since January 2023, assumes the role of CEO. His association with the bank began in 2019, and the fund Värde Partners, which controls more than 75% of the entity, has chosen Saurina for his extensive knowledge of the business.
From today, Saurina will be responsible for executing the five-year strategic plan that had been designed by Nafaa. The entity has expressed that there will be no changes in management and will focus on recovering profitability after six years of losses, which reached 53 million euros last year.
Among the causes of the losses is the high litigation associated with 'revolving' cards, a product that has generated controversy in Spain. Despite this, WiZink has continued to market these cards, adapting to market demand.
Meanwhile, WiZink is negotiating with Unicaja the transfer of certain assets, including its consumer financing platform and its credit card business in Portugal. This operation could lead to the creation of a good bank and a bad bank, complicating the transaction due to the legal costs involved.
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