The head of Spain's competition watchdog, Cani Fernandez, said Tuesday that the Spanish government could set additional conditions in its review of BBVA's €12.28 billion ($13.16 billion) bid for Sabadell.

The antitrust agency, which has already begun studying BBVA's bid, could study the case in several scenarios, which could prolong its analysis for several months.

If the process is reviewed in phase one, it would take one month, or three months in phase two. But even those timeframes could be extended, as each time additional information is required, the review process is restarted.

In phase three, the government, which has already expressed its opposition to the operation, has two more months to include new conditions.

Fernández said at an event in Santander that he was not aware of any political pressure in relation to the offer.

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(Information by Jesús Aguado; edited by Andrei Khalip; edited in Spanish by Mireia Merino)