MADRID, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos ruled out on Thursday a collapse in Catalan banks as a result of the tensions happening in this northeastern region of Spain.
De Guindos explained that "the main entities are under the European Central Bank rule and Spain's Deposit Guarantee Fund, they have the support of the Spanish government," he said.
Statistics show that since Catlonia declared an illegal independent referendum, about 700 companies have moved their headquarters out the region in fear of the uncertainties brought by a declaration of independence.
The region's two main banks, the fourth largest Banc Sabadell and third largest Caixabank, are among the companies, with the former moving its headquarters to Alicante and the latter to Balearic Islands.
"The decisions taken by the financial entities were reasonable," de Guindos said.
Spanish government announced on Thursday that they would continue the process of implementing the article 155 of the Spanish constitution, which means a suspension of the Catalan autonomy, after Catalan regional leader Carles Puigdemont failed to clarify whether he declared the independence or not.
The Spanish government is set to meet on Saturday to decide on the implementation of the article 155.
