BBVA Argentina, formerly BBVA Banco Francés, is a financial institution in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

History

Founded on October 14, 1886, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

as ''Banco Francés del Río de la Plata'' ( en, French Bank of the River Plate), it is the oldest private

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

in Argentina. Its Beaux-Arts headquarters, designed by Jorge Bunge, were inaugurated in 1926. Morgan Guaranty Trust acquired a 50% share in the bank in 1968, though the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based bank sold most of these to

Alpargatas Espadrilles (Spanish: ''alpargatas or esparteñas''; Catalan: ''espardenyes''; Basque: ''espartinak'') are casual, rope-soled, flat but sometimes high-heeled shoes. They usually have a canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole made o ...

, a leading local industrial firm, a decade later. Despite the nation's economic woes during the 1980s, the Banco Francés expanded from 15 branches to 62 during the decade, and entered into a joint venture with Bankers Trust Company in 1986. Alpargatas sold its stake to local developer

Eduardo Constantini Eduardo Francisco Costantini (born September 17, 1946) is an Argentine real estate developer and businessman and the founder and chairman of the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA). In April 2022, his net worth was estimated at U ...

in 1991, and entered into a second joint venture with

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

in 1992. In December 1996,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

's ''Banco Bilbao Vizcaya,'' (now Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria), acquired the 99.9% of the common shares of ''Otar S.R.L.'', which was a major shareholder of ''Sud América Inversiones S.A.'', and holder of over 30% of the capital of Banco Francés, hence the BBVA in its name. BBVA was the fifth-largest bank in Argentina and the third-largest private one, with deposits of US$6.7 billion and a lending portfolio of US$5.4 billion a(a roughly 6% domestic share in both areas). It maintained 245 branches and almost 1,400 ATMs in Argentina, and employed around 5,200 staff. The bank announced in 2013 it would relocate its headquarters to the Consultatio Tower, in the

Catalinas Norte Catalinas Norte is an important business complex composed of nineteen commercial office buildings and occupied by many leading Argentine companies, foreign subsidiaries, diplomatic offices, and a hotel. It is located in the Retiro and San Nicol ...

office park, upon the Tower's completion in 2015. In 2019, BBVA unifies its brand worldwide and BBVA Francés was renamed BBVA.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:BBVA Banco Frances Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange Banks of Argentina Banks established in 1886 Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria 1886 establishments in Argentina Commercial buildings completed in 1926 Buildings and structures in Buenos Aires Companies listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange Argentine subsidiaries of foreign companies