Powerful retail banking franchise in Spain and diversified business model, which will be further reinforced by the merger with Bankia. Improved capital base, on balance-sheet de-risking, conservative risk management, and organic capital generation in the past four years. Balanced funding profile and comfortable liquidity buffer. Geographic concentration in Spain and Portugal. High capital consumption in insurance and equity holdings. Heightened stress on already-limited profitability prospects amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The stable outlook on CaixaBank balances the potential pressure on the bank's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) over the next 12-24 months, including from the expected integration of Bankia, against the possible benefits from the accumulation of bail-inable debt, which will protect senior bondholders in a resolution scenario. Despite the stable outlook,
