Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (), better known by its initialism BBVA, is a Spanish multinational
financial services
Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
company based in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and
Bilbao
)
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, Spain. It is one of the largest
financial institutions in the world, and is present mainly in Spain,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
,
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
The bank was founded as Banco de Bilbao, on May 28, 1857, in Bilbao. BBVA's operational headquarters are located in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, in the "Ciudad BBVA" complex. It is Spain's second largest bank after
Banco Santander. It is listed on the
Madrid Stock Exchange, the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
and on the
Mexican Stock Exchange. It is also a part of the
IBEX 35 as well as the
Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50.
As of December 31, 2018, BBVA's assets amounted to around €676 billion, making it the second largest Spanish financial institution by volume of assets. At that same date, it had 7,963 offices, 125,627 employees and 74.5 million customers, and was present in more than 30 countries.
5] On April 2, 2018, it was ranked the 42nd largest bank in the world by total assets.
History in Spain
Banco de Bilbao and Banco de Vizcaya
The history of BBVA began in 1857 in
Bilbao
)
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, pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption ...
, a city located in the
Basque part of northern Spain, when the Board of Trade promoted the creation of Banco de Bilbao as an issuing and discount bank.
Banco de Vizcaya was founded in 1901 and carried out its first operations in Bilbao. Little by little, it spread throughout the country.
In 1988, the merger agreement between Banco de Bilbao and Banco de Vizcaya was signed. And in 1989, the BBV brand was adopted.
Merger of BBV and Argentaria: Creation of BBVA
In 1991, the Spanish government of
Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a Spanish lawyer, professor, and politician, who was the Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from 1974 to 1997, and the 3rd Prime Minister of Spain since the ...
created the public bank Argentaria, grouping in it the Spanish public banks. Subsequently, between 1993 and 1998 the process of privatization of the entity was carried out. BBV and Argentaria announced their merger project on October 19, 1999, with the aim of continuing to create value. The new bank (BBVA) was born with a significant size, a strong financial solvency and a large financial structure, an adequate geographical diversification of business and risks and, as a consequence of all this, a greater potential for profit growth.
Acquisitions of Unnim Banc and Catalunya Banc
![La vela bbva](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/La_vela_bbva.jpg)
After several years dedicated to external growth, BBVA takes advantage of the restructuring of the financial system in Spain to grow especially in
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, one of the regions where it had the lowest market share. To this end, it acquired between 2012 and 2014 the two financial groups nationalized by the Government of Spain (Unnim Banc and
Catalunya Banc), which grouped 6 Catalan savings banks.
Digital transformation
In 2007, the firm started an initiative to digitally transform the bank. Following implementation, it saw a 19% year-on-year increase in new customers. As of 2015, the total number of these clients stood at 14.8 million.
In 2019, BBVA decides to unify its brand worldwide and introduces a new logo. This meant the disappearance of local names in Argentina (Francés), Mexico (Bancomer), Peru (Continental), and the United States (Compass). Garanti Bank, the Group’s franchise in Turkey, changed its name to Garanti BBVA.
In January 2021, BBVA said that it was looking for plans to lower the costs, then in February 2021, it was reported that BBVA is planning to cut around 3000 jobs in Spain after a fall of 48% of its net profit in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Credit ratings
As of March 2022, BBVA had the following debt ratings with the four major rating agencies:
International expansion
![Torre del Banco de Bilbao 17](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Torre_del_Banco_de_Bilbao_17.jpg)
The international presence of BBVA began in 1902, when the Banco de Bilbao opened a branch in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and in 1918 another in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, thus becoming the first Spanish bank with a presence abroad. In the 1970s, Banco de Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya and Banco Exterior were configured as international groups, with the installation of operational and representative offices in the financial capitals of Europe, America and Asia. Likewise, the bank initiated a policy of expansion in America through the purchase of local banks in various countries of the continent.
In 2019 the Bank changed its name to BBVA, dropping local brand names in Argentina (
Francés), Mexico (
Bancomer), Peru (
Continental), and the United States (
Compass
A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
). In addition to the rebranding, Garanti in Turkey was renamed to
Garanti BBVA
Garanti BBVA (legal name Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş; formerly referred to as Garanti Bank in English) is a Turkish financial services company based in Turkey. 86% of Garanti's stakes are owned by the Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argent ...
.
Latin America
The Banco de Vizcaya acquired the Commercial Bank of Mayagüez in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
in 1979, a bank founded in 1967 by a group of merchants and industrialists. When it became BBVA Puerto Rico, in 1992 it began a growth stage through acquisitions, which gave rise to BBVA Puerto Rico.
In 1995, the group entered
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, with the privatization and subsequent acquisition of Banco Continental, and in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, with the purchase of Probursa, which later merged with
BBVA Bancomer to form the financial group BBVA Bancomer that operates in the banking and insurance sector.
In 1996, it entered
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, with the acquisition of Banco Ganadero and 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 ...
, with the acquisition of
BBVA Francés
BBVA Argentina, formerly BBVA Banco Francés, is a financial institution in Argentina.
History
Founded on October 14, 1886, in Buenos Aires as ''Banco Francés del Río de la Plata'' ( en, French Bank of the River Plate), it is the oldest private ...
. It also makes new acquisitions in Mexico, buying Banca Cremí and Banco de Oriente.
In 1997, BBVA entered
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
by acquiring the Provincial Bank, which had been founded in 1953. He also expanded his presence in Argentina with the acquisition of Banco de Credito Argentino. It also enters into the pension funds business in Bolivia, founding BBVA Previsión AFP.
In 1998, the bank installed in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
after buying Banco BHIF, and AFP Provida one year later. It also enters
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
with the purchase of Banco Excel-Econômico, and in Argentina he buys the insurer Consolidar, created in 1994.
In 2000, the merger of BBV Probursa with Bancomer occurred in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
to create
BBVA Bancomer, the first bank in the country by volume of assets. At the beginning of 2004, the Group announced the takeover bid for 100% of the shares of Bancomer that did not yet belong to BBVA, buying all the shares of the Mexican bank. In 2004 it acquires 100% of Hipotecaria Nacional, a private entity specialized in the
mortgage business.
In 2001, the implementation of the unified platform for all businesses and all countries was completed, and the BBVA brand was installed in the Group's entities in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.
![Torre BBVA Mexico](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Torre_BBVA_Mexico.jpg)
In 2004, the banks of Chile (BHIF) and Colombia (Banco Ganadero) changed their commercial denomination and were simply called BBVA.
In 2006, through a public auction, it acquired the old savings and housing corporation, Banco Granahorrar de Colombia, whose shares belonged to the Grancolombian group, and with the financial and economic crisis of the late 90s it passed into the hands of the state through Fogafin. Later he merged with BBVA Colombia, creating one of the largest banking groups in the country.
In 2017 BBVA acquires the Mexican company Openpay, startup
fintech specializing in online payments.
As of July 6, 2018
Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...
Chile takes control of BBVA Chile, with which the legal trademark will be renamed as Scotiabank Azul until its full integration with Scotiabank. The total change was made in October 2018.
United States
In 2004, the Group began another line of international expansion with entry into the US market, with acquisitions of entities in the south of the country (
Sunbelt region), taking advantage of the strength of its Mexican subsidiary
BBVA Bancomer.
In the second quarter of the year, the Group announced the purchase of Valley Bank in California through BBVA Bancomer.
In 2005, it bought the Banco Laredo (located in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
), and in 2006 the Texas Regional Bancshares
Texas State Bank.
In 2007, BBVA acquired Alabama Compass Bank in the US, strengthening its franchise in that country. Later, BBVA unified its corporate image in the country by reorganizing its entire portfolio of brands under the name "
BBVA Compass".
In 2009, it acquired the
Guaranty Bank in Texas, following the collapse of this entity.
In 2014, BBVA acquired the US digital banking company
Simple
Simple or SIMPLE may refer to:
*Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple
Arts and entertainment
* ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track
* "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018
* "Simple", a song by Johnn ...
for 117 million dollars. In its push towards a digital future in 2015 acquired the California company Spring Studio, specializing in user experience and digital design.
By 2018,
BBVA USA
BBVA USA was a bank headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from 2007 until 2021, when it was acquired by PNC Financial Services. It operated mainly in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, ...
was one of the 30 largest banks in the US.
In 2020,
BBVA USA
BBVA USA was a bank headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from 2007 until 2021, when it was acquired by PNC Financial Services. It operated mainly in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, ...
was sold to
PNC Financial Services
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 U.S. state, states and the D ...
for 11.6 Billion dollars.
Turkey
In 2010, the Group acquired 24.9% of the capital of
Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS, the second largest bank in Turkey, and reached an agreement with the Dogus Group - the reference shareholder of Garanti - to manage the entity jointly. Subsequently, this participation increased to 25.01%. In November 2014, BBVA acquired an additional 14.89% of the Garanti bank from Dogus Holdings for 1,988 million euros, bringing its share to 39.9% of the entity.
In February 2017, it reached a new purchase agreement with Dogus to acquire 9.95% more from the Garanti bank for 859 million euros. Increasing its participation to 49.85% .
On November 15, 2021, BBVA offered to purchase the remaining shares 50.15% of shares in Garanti bank. In May 2022, BBVA reaches 86% stake in Garanti BBVA.
Italy
In 2021 the bank virtually opened in Italy.
Presence on stock market indexes
IBEX 35
BBVA is included in the
IBEX 35, the official index of the Spanish Continuous Market composed of the 35 most liquid stocks traded on continuous market. The BBVA has a market capitalization of 15,816 million euros (09-30-20) with a share value between 5 and 8 euros.
Eurostoxx 50
BBVA bank lists in Eurostoxx 50 along with other banks like
Santander Bank
Santander Bank, N. A. (), formerly Sovereign Bank, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group. It is based in Boston and its principal market is the northeastern United States. It has $57.5 billion in deposits, operates about ...
and
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
.
NYSE
BBVA bank is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mexican Stock Exchange
BBVA bank is listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange.
U.S. sports market presence
On 13 September 2010 BBVA became an official sponsor of the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
.
From 2011 to 2014, BBVA sponsored the
Birmingham Bowl
The Birmingham Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually in Birmingham, Alabama. First held in 2006, the game is owned and operated by ESPN Events. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UA ...
, a postseason college football game played in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, during which time the game was known as the BBVA Compass Bowl. For the first three editions under the sponsorship contract, the game featured teams from the
Big East Conference and
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
. Following the
2013 split of the Big East along football lines, the former Big East berth was inherited by that conference's football-sponsoring offshoot, the
American Athletic Conference. On 12 May 2012,
BBVA Compass Stadium opened in downtown
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. It was built as the home for the
Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team, and from its opening has also hosted the
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team. Since
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, the stadium has also hosted home games of the
Houston Dash, a team in the
National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...
that is owned and operated by the Dynamo.
Emerging and growth-leading economies (EAGLEs)
Emerging and growth-leading economies
Emerging and growth-leading economies (EAGLEs) are a grouping of key emerging markets developed by BBVA Research. The EAGLE economies are expected to lead global growth in the next 10 years, and to provide important opportunities for investor ...
(EAGLEs) are a grouping of key
emerging markets
An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...
developed by
BBVA Research. The EAGLE economies are expected to lead global growth in the next 10 years, and to provide important opportunities for investors.
See also
*
BBVA Rising Stars Challenge
The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- an ...
NBA exhibition basketball game
*
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award annual science and humanities award since 2009
*
Big Four (Spanish banking)
*
List of banks in Spain
References
External links
*
BBVA Foundation
{{authority control
1999 establishments in Spain
Banks established in 1999
Banks of Spain
Basque companies
Companies listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange
IBEX 35
Multinational companies headquartered in Spain
Spanish brands
Organisations based in Bilbao
Companies in the Euro Stoxx 50
Banks under direct supervision of the European Central Bank