BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A.

Banco de Bilbao and Banco de Vizcaya

The history of BBVA began in 1857 in Bilbao, 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 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 19 October 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

After several years dedicated to external growth, BBVA takes advantage of the restructuring of the financial system in Spain to grow especially in Catalonia, 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.

In 2020, BBVA entered into negotiations with smaller competitor Banco Sabadell to create Spain's second-biggest domestic lender by assets; according to Reuters, the bank would have nearly 600 billion euros ($710.52 billion) in assets in Spain and a combined market value, based on the share prices at the time, of 26.7 billion euros. Shortly after, both parties ended their talks after failing to agree on price. Later on in May 2024, BBVA presented a $13.11 billion takeover bid directly to Sabadell's shareholders. However, the Economy Ministry has the power to block any merger or acquisition of a bank, meaning that the Spanish government has six months to decide whether to block this takeover.

In December 2024, BBVA was confirmed on getting approval for taking indirect control of Sabadell’s Mexican businesses. On 30 January 2025, BBVA plans to buy back shares worth 993 million euros ($1billion) after the Spanish market supervisor lifted their restriction on new repurchase plans it has imposed over BBVA’s takeover bid for Sabadell.

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 decided to unify its brand worldwide and introduced 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 was planning to cut around 3,000 jobs in Spain after its net profit fell 48% in the fourth quarter of 2020. In July 2025, BBVA launched cryptocurrency trading and custody services for retail clients in Spain, operating under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). It was among the first traditional banks in Europe to offer such services. In September 2025, BBVA announced the expansion of its institutional services through the adoption of Ripple’s cryptocurrency custody solution. The initiative is intended to strengthen the bank’s compliance with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation and broaden its involvement in digital asset markets.