Bankia SA is close to deciding how many jobs it will have to cut after its acquisition of Banco Mare Nostrum SA and is planning no further mergers, Expansión reported Nov. 28, citing Bankia Chairman Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri.

Speaking at a conference in Madrid, he reportedly said the merged entity would be the fourth-largest player in Spain, giving the bank scale to compete. The bank has no plans to merge with any other entity at this time, he added, according to the report.

The bank is very close to knowing how many job cuts it will have to make, and a final decision is expected in the coming weeks, the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Majority state-owned Bankia and BMN were bailed out with some €24 billion of EU funds during the financial crisis, Bankia's bailout coming after an ill-fated 2011 IPO and amid a €19 billion loss in 2012.

ABC quoted Finance Minister Luis de Guindos as saying that the government plans to sell off its stake as soon as possible, with the aim of recouping as much taxpayers' money as possible.

The government had been planning to sell a stake in the bank before year-end, but political turmoil in Catalonia has led to concerns that the sale will be postponed.