Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) is a multinational Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

banking group. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Argentaria, both of which in turn had previously amalgamated three important banks in Spain, namely Banco de Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, Banco Exterior de España and the state-owned Caja Postal de Ahorros, with other minor entities. BBVA is the second largest bank in Spain and 7th largest financial institution in the Western world with a market capitalization of over 61 billion €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

. The bank has recently focused on overseas expansion, and now operates in 40 countries. Like many other Spanish companies, it enjoys a dominant position in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. It also has a strong presence in southern European countries, especially Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and has announced its intention to expand into the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

History

BBVA’s story began in 1857 when the Spanish Board of Trade sponsored the creation of Banco de Bilbao as a currency-issuing and discount bank. Until the 1890s it was practically the only bank in the Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

. In the second half of the 19th century Banco de Bilbao played a leading role in operations involving infrastructure projects and development of the steel industry. In 1878, it lost the right to issue currency and reorganised as lending and discount bank. Banco de Vizcaya was set up in 1901. It carried out its first operations in Bilbao

Bilbao

Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...

and gradually extended throughout Spain. Apart from its activities as a commercial

Commercial bank

After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...

and general purpose bank, it intervened in the creation and development of a large part of Spanish industry. In 1902, Banco de Bilbao merged with Banco del Comercio although both continued to operate as separate entities. In 1909, Caja Postal de Ahorros was set up as a public entity and started operations in 1916, based on savings books. A consortium of bankers and manufacturers founded Banco de Crédito Industrial (BCI) in 1920 with the express aim of boosting the installation and consolidation of industry through long-term lending. Both Banco de Bilbao and Banco de Vizcaya formed part of this consortium. In 1923, the Servicio Nacional de Crédito Agrícola was created under the ministry of agriculture to provide loans to agricultural associations against the joint and several liability of their members. A combination of public and private interests set up Banco de Crédito Local (BCL) in 1925 in the form of a joint-stock company. Its purpose was to finance local authorities and other public institutions. Banco Exterior de España (BEX) was created in 1929 to encourage foreign trade, to seek new markets for Spanish products and to help local companies with imports and exports.

Development in the 1960s

Banco de Bilbao grew further, absorbing other banks. At the same time Banco de Vizcaya also expanded and began to emerge as an important financial group. Greater flexibility by the authorities regarding new branches allowed it to extend its network. Caja Postal added current account

Current account

In economics, the current account is one of the two primary components of the balance of payments, the other being the capital account. The current account is the sum of the balance of trade , net factor income and net transfer payments .The current account balance is one of two major...

s, securities and specific credit lines to its existing services. The Banking Sector Reform Act 1962 nationalised BCI, BHE and BCL and converted the Servicio Nacional de Crédito Agrícola into Banco de Crédito Agrícola (BCA). All four thus became public entities. However in 1971 they were recast as joint stock companies and became official loan entities (under the Official Credit System Act).

Development in the 1980s

During the 1980s, Banco de Bilbao’s strategy was to attain sufficient size in order to participate in financial operations generated by advances in technology, deregulation, securitisation and the interrelationship between domestic and international markets. Banco de Vizcaya contributed to the refloating of banks affected by the economic crisis and pursued a policy of strong growth through acquisitions. This turned it into a large banking group. The most important operation was the acquisition of Banca Catalana in 1984. In the meantime, the official credit entities expanded their business through market operations. In 1982, BEX lost the exclusive right to provide export finance. It refocused its goals on becoming a universal bank and on building a financial group. During this process it acquired Banco de Alicante in 1983. In 1988, Banco de Bilbao and Banco de Vizcaya merged to form Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (BBV).

Corporación Bancaria de España (CBE) was set up in 1991 as a government corporation and credit entity with bank status. Argentaria started out with a federated banking model. However, in 1998, Corporación Bancaria de España (already privatised via IPOs), BEX (which had merged with BCI), BHE and Caja Postal were merged into a single bank, Argentaria.

Merger

BBV and Argentaria announced their planned merger on October 19, 1999. The new group had the advantages of significant size, a strong capital base, a considerable financial structure and appropriate geographic diversification of its business and risks. As a result there was a greater profit potential.

Customers now had access to a larger network and a wider range of products. They also enjoyed easier access to new channels and a considerable international presence. Employees also had more opportunity for career advancement.

The integration process was given an important boost in January 2000 by the roll-out of the single BBVA brand

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

. This helped the group generate an image that was strongly positioned in terms of identity and distinguishing characteristics.

The integration of the group's retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

businesses in Spain (BBV, Argentaria, Banca Catalana, Banco del Comercio and Banco de Alicante) led to the creation of a significant branch network under the BBVA banner. The efficiency of the BBVA integration was recognised by top financial publications. In 2000 it was chosen World’s Best Bank (Forbes

Forbes

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

) and Best Bank in Spain (The Banker
The Banker
The Banker is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by The Financial Times Ltd. and edited in London...

). In 2001, it was Best Bank in Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

(Forbes) and Best Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an Bank (Lafferty).

Entering the U.S. market

In 2005, BBVA Group acquired Laredo National Bank

Laredo National Bank

The Laredo National Bank was a Texas bank founded in 1892 headquartered in Laredo, Texas which was bought by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. LNB had been a component in the development of business and industry along the United States-Mexico border and South Texas...

, based in Laredo, Texas

Laredo, Texas

Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...

. In 2006, it acquired Texas Regional Bancshares of McAllen, Texas

McAllen, Texas

McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in an area known as the Rio Grande Valley and is part of the . Its southern boundary is located about five miles from the U.S.–Mexico border and the Mexican city of Reynosa, the Rio...

, and State National Bancshares to become the fourth biggest bank of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

after Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...

, Bank of America

Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...

and JPMorgan Chase.

On February 16, 2007, BBVA announced a definitive agreement to acquire Compass Bancshares

Compass Bancshares

BBVA Compass is a United States financial holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with US$65 billion in assets and primarily located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. Compass Bancshares is one of the U.S.’s 25 largest banks, and was previously...

Inc. based in Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. BBVA plans to create the biggest bank in the Sun Belt

Sun Belt

The Sun Belt or Spanish Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the South and Southwest . Another rough boundary of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel, north latitude. It is the largest region which the U.S government does not recognize officially...

by consolidating all those banks to create Birmingham-based BBVA Compass. The deal was completed on Friday, September 7, 2007, when Compass Bancshares became a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA. The transaction gave BBVA a substantial stakehold in the US banking sector by creating the largest financial institution in the Sun Belt region. BBVA plans to integrate banks previously acquired in the US with the current Compass technology and management platforms.
BBVA Compass is a company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. BBVA Compass is a Southeastern and Southwestern financial holding company with US$65 billion in assets and primarily located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. Compass Bancshares is one of the nation’s 25 largest banks, and was previously a member of the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Select Dividend Index. The corporate headquarters are located in the Daniel Building in downtown Birmingham. Birmingham is also the location of all BBVA Compass's administrative and operational functions.

On August 21, 2009, in an FDIC-supervised transaction, BBVA Compass acquired the deposits and other core assets of the failed Guaranty Bank

Guaranty Bank

Guaranty Bank was a major bank based in Austin, which collapsed in 2009.Formed in 1988 and part of Temple-Inland until 2007 when it was spun off as a standalone company, Guaranty was the second largest bank in Texas, with 162 branches across Texas and California, and at the time of its failure had...

of Austin, Texas. The deal gives BBVA Compass a first-time presence in California and expands an existing presence in Texas.[1]

BBVA sponsors the BBVA Compass Bowl, a post season college football game played in Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama

. Birmingham is the headquarters of the former Compass Bancshares, which was acquired by BBVA. The game matches teams from the Big East Conference

Big East Conference

The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...

and Southeastern Conference

Southeastern Conference

The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

.

On September 13, 2010 BBVA became an official sponsor of the NBA.

Strategic move into Asia

In the year 2006, BBVA outbid Banco Santander Central Hispano, Bank of America

Bank of America

, and formed an alliance with China CITIC Bank

China CITIC Bank

China CITIC Bank is China’s seventh-largest lender in terms of total assets. It is formerly known as CITIC Industrial Bank. China CITIC Bank, established in February 1987, is a nationally comprehensive and internationally oriented commercial bank...

, one of the biggest banks in China by acquiring a stake in the bank and in CITIC International Financial Holdings Limited

CITIC International Financial Holdings Limited

CITIC International Financial Holdings Limited is the financial flagship company of the CITIC Group outside mainland China. It is the holding company of CITIC Ka Wah Bank, has a 50% stake in CITIC Capital Holdings Limited and a 40& stake in CITIC International Assets Management Limited. CITIC...

(CIFH), China Citic Group’s main international arm.

Today, BBVA's investments and position in China are as follows:

The BBVA Group invested about € 3bn into China CITIC Bank and CITIC International Financial Holdings Limited, the biggest outlay by a Spanish company in mainland China and Hong Kong so far
BBVA holds a 15% stake in China CITIC Bank (CNCB)
It owns a 30% stake in CITIC International Financial Holdings (CIFH)
The alliance between BBVA and CITIC covers the development of retail and corporate banking in mainland China and Hong Kong, one of the fastest growing markets in the world, via CNCB and/or CIFH
BBVA and CIFH (CITIC Group’s international arm) conduct corporate banking, investment banking and treasury business across the Asia region
BBVA has directora on CNCB’s and CIFG's boards
CNCB, whose head office is in Beijing, has assets of €62.2 billion, 13,485 employees (as of June 2006) and 416 branches, distributed throughout mainland China
CIFH, whose headquarters are in Hong Kong, has assets of €9.3 billion, 1,711 staff and 38 branches

BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge and Culture Awards

The BBVA Foundation runs the annual BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge and Culture Awards in order to recognize and encourage world-class research and artistic creation, prizing contributions of broad impact for their originality and theoretical significance. The name of the scheme is intended to encapsulate both work that successfully enlarges the scope of our current knowledge – pushing forward the frontiers of the known world – and the meeting of different disciplinary areas.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards take in eight prize categories: Basic Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), Biomedicine, Ecology and Conservation Biology, Information and Communication Technologies, Economics, Finance and Management, Contemporary Music, Climate Change and Development Cooperation.

External links

BBVA Foundation
Yahoo! - Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA Company Profile

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