Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.
Company History
BBVA History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1857 in Bilbao, Spain
When was BBVA founded?
BBVA was founded in 1857 in Bilbao, Spain by Bilbao Board of Trade, making it 169 years old.
- Founded
- 1857
- Founding place
- Bilbao, Spain
- Founders
- Bilbao Board of Trade
- Headquarters today
- Madrid, Spain
- Milestones documented
- 16 (1857–2026)
- Current CEO
- Onur Genç
- Acquisitions
- 6
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1857 | Banco de Bilbao is created |
| 1901 | Banco de Vizcaya is founded |
| 1988 | Banco de Bilbao and Banco de Vizcaya merge |
| 1999 | BBV merges with Argentaria to create BBVA |
| 2000 | BBVA takes control of Bancomer in Mexico |
| 2004 | BBVA bids for the rest of BBVA Bancomer |
| 2007 | Compass Bancshares purchase builds a US franchise |
| 2010 | BBVA agrees to buy 24.9 percent of Garanti |
| 2014 | BBVA wins the auction for Catalunya Banc |
| 2018 | Onur Genc is named CEO |
| 2019 | BBVA unifies its brand worldwide |
| 2021 | BBVA closes the transfer of BBVA USA to PNC |
| 2022 | Tender offer lifts the Garanti stake to 85.97 percent |
| 2025 | The offer for Banco Sabadell lapses |
| 2025 | Record net attributable profit of ~$11.9B (EUR10.511B) |
| 2026 | BBVA is ordered to stand trial in the Villarejo case |
- Where was BBVA founded?
- BBVA was founded in Bilbao, Spain in 1857. en.wikipedia.org
- Who founded BBVA?
- BBVA was founded by Bilbao Board of Trade.
- When did BBVA start?
- BBVA was founded in 1857.
- How old is BBVA?
- BBVA is 169 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
BBVA's oldest root is Banco de Bilbao, created in 1857 after the city's Board of Trade promoted a bank that could issue banknotes and discount commercial bills for Bilbao's merchants. Banco de Vizcaya followed in 1901. The two Basque banks spent most of the twentieth century as rivals and merged in 1988 to form Banco Bilbao Vizcaya. In 1999 BBV merged with Argentaria, the group Spain had assembled from state-owned lenders, and the result took the name Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. BBVA counts more than one hundred institutions in its corporate lineage, which is why it dates itself from 1857 rather than 1999.
Founders
Bilbao Board of Trade
No individual is recorded as the founder of BBVA's oldest institution. Banco de Bilbao was created in 1857 after the Bilbao Board of Trade, the body representing the port city's merchants, promoted a bank that could issue banknotes and discount commercial bills. The bank financed Basque trade and industry for more than a century, merged with its local rival Banco de Vizcaya in 1988 to form BBV, and BBV merged with Argentaria in 1999 to create Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. BBVA traces more than one hundred institutions through that line, which is why the group dates itself from 1857. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Banco de Bilbao is created
Bilbao's Board of Trade promotes the creation of Banco de Bilbao as a bank of issue and discount for the city's merchants. It is the oldest institution in BBVA's corporate line.
Source: shareholdersandinvestors.bbva.comBanco de Vizcaya is founded
Banco de Vizcaya is founded in Bilbao and grows alongside Banco de Bilbao as the second large Basque bank, financing regional industry.
Source: shareholdersandinvestors.bbva.comBanco de Bilbao and Banco de Vizcaya merge
The two Basque rivals merge to form Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (BBV), one of the largest banks in Spain ahead of the European single market.
Source: shareholdersandinvestors.bbva.comBBV merges with Argentaria to create BBVA
BBV merges with Argentaria, the group Spain had assembled from state-owned lenders such as Banco Exterior, Banco Hipotecario and Caja Postal, forming Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria.
Source: shareholdersandinvestors.bbva.comBBVA takes control of Bancomer in Mexico
BBVA capitalizes Bancomer with USD1.4 billion and merges it with BBV-Probursa to create Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer, the largest bank in Mexico.
Source: investors.bbva.mxBBVA bids for the rest of BBVA Bancomer
BBVA offers USD4.1 billion in cash for the roughly 41 percent of BBVA Bancomer held by minority investors, ending with about 99 percent of the Mexican group.
Source: latimes.comCompass Bancshares purchase builds a US franchise
BBVA buys Compass Bancshares of Birmingham, Alabama for USD9.6 billion, creating a Sunbelt retail bank that later traded as BBVA Compass and BBVA USA.
Source: institutionalinvestor.comBBVA agrees to buy 24.9 percent of Garanti
BBVA agrees to pay ~$4.74 billion (EUR4.195 billion), about USD5.84 billion, for 24.9 percent of Turkiye Garanti Bankasi, funded with a rights issue of about $5.65 billion (EUR5 billion).
Source: marketwatch.comBBVA wins the auction for Catalunya Banc
BBVA bids ~$1.34 billion (EUR1.187 billion) for Catalunya Banc, with 1.5 million customers and ~$71.2 billion (EUR63 billion) of assets, in the auction run by Spain's bank restructuring fund. The deal closed in 2015.
Source: bbva.comOnur Genc is named CEO
BBVA's board designates Onur Genc as chief executive from December 31, 2018, the date Carlos Torres Vila replaces Francisco Gonzalez as executive chairman.
Source: bbva.comBBVA unifies its brand worldwide
The group drops local names such as BBVA Bancomer, BBVA Francés, BBVA Continental and BBVA Compass and operates as BBVA in every market.
Source: shareholdersandinvestors.bbva.comBBVA closes the transfer of BBVA USA to PNC
BBVA completes the transfer of BBVA USA Bancshares to PNC Financial Services on June 1, 2021, receiving about USD11.5 billion, equivalent to ~$10.8 billion (EUR9.6 billion), in cash.
Source: bbva.comTender offer lifts the Garanti stake to 85.97 percent
A tender offer at 15 Turkish lira per share closes in May 2022 and raises BBVA's holding in Garanti BBVA to 85.97 percent.
Source: bbva.comThe offer for Banco Sabadell lapses
Shareholders representing 25.47 percent of Sabadell's voting rights accept BBVA's all-share offer, short of the minimum BBVA required, and the bid lapses on October 16, 2025.
Source: shareholdersandinvestors.bbva.comRecord net attributable profit of ~$11.9B (EUR10.511B)
BBVA reports gross income of ~$41.7B (EUR36.931B) and net attributable profit of ~$11.9B (EUR10.511B) for 2025, with ROTE of 19.3 percent and an efficiency ratio of 38.8 percent.
Source: bbva.comBBVA is ordered to stand trial in the Villarejo case
Spain's National Court orders BBVA, former chairman Francisco Gonzalez and 14 other defendants to stand trial over work commissioned from former police commissioner Jose Manuel Villarejo between 2004 and 2016.
Source: uk.finance.yahoo.comMajor Acquisitions
Grupo Financiero Bancomer (Mexico)
2000BBVA capitalized Bancomer with USD1.4 billion and merged it with its own Mexican bank, BBV-Probursa, creating Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer and giving BBVA control of the largest banking franchise in Mexico.
BBVA Bancomer minority shares (Mexico)
2004BBVA offered USD4.1 billion in cash in February 2004 for the roughly 41 percent of BBVA Bancomer it did not already own, taking full economic ownership of the Mexican bank.
Compass Bancshares (United States)
2007BBVA bought Compass Bancshares of Birmingham, Alabama for USD9.6 billion to build retail scale across the US Sunbelt alongside its earlier Texas purchases.
Turkiye Garanti Bankasi 24.9 percent stake (Turkey)
2010BBVA agreed in November 2010 to pay ~$4.74 billion (EUR4.195 billion), about USD5.84 billion, for 24.9 percent of Garanti, buying 18.6 percent from General Electric and 6.3 percent from the Dogus group, and funded it with a rights issue of about $5.65 billion (EUR5 billion).
Catalunya Banc (Spain)
2014BBVA won the FROB auction for Catalunya Banc in July 2014 with a bid of ~$1.34 billion (EUR1.187 billion), adding 1.5 million customers and ~$71.2 billion (EUR63 billion) of assets in Catalonia; the purchase closed in 2015.
Turkiye Garanti Bankasi tender offer (Turkey)
2022BBVA raised its price to 15 Turkish lira per share and closed a tender offer for the Garanti shares it did not own in May 2022, lifting its holding to 85.97 percent.
Keep researching BBVA
BBVA Company History FAQ
What are the key historical milestones in the evolution of BBVA?
BBVA's history spans the founding of Banco de Bilbao (1857) and Banco de Vizcaya (1901), their 1988 merger into BBV, the creation of Argentaria in 1991, the 1999 merger forming modern BBVA, aggressive Latin American expansion (2000s), digital transformation (2010s), and the 2021 sale of US operations.
How did Banco de Bilbao contribute to Spain's industrial revolution?
Banco de Bilbao provided the primary capital underwriting for the expansion of Spanish commercial rail networks, Basque shipyard infrastructure, steel foundries (Altos Hornos de Vizcaya), and mining concessions during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Why did Spanish banks expand aggressively into Latin America during the 1990s?
Following Spain's accession to the European Economic Community and the deregulation of Latin American financial sectors in the 1990s, BBV expanded aggressively into Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru to deploy capital in underbanked, high-growth economies sharing common language and legal systems.
When did BBVA unify its international brand identity under a single logo?
In June 2019, BBVA deployed a unified global corporate brand identity, dropping local brand names such as BBVA Bancomer (Mexico), BBVA Francés (Argentina), BBVA Continental (Peru), and BBVA Compass (USA) to operate simply as 'BBVA' worldwide with a modernized digital logo.
How did BBVA handle the 2008 global and Spanish banking crisis?
Unlike many Spanish savings banks (cajas) that required state bailouts and restructuring, BBVA avoided public rescue funds due to its diversified international earnings from Mexico and Latin America and disciplined risk management during the Spanish property bubble.
How did BBVA move its customers from branches to the app?
BBVA rebuilt distribution around mobile banking over the 2010s and kept cutting the branch network: by the end of 2025 it ran 5,642 branches and 31,015 ATMs for 81.2 million active customers, having added 11.5 million customers that year. The result shows in costs, with operating expenses up 1.0 percent in reported euros in 2025 and an efficiency ratio of 38.8 percent.
What role did Ciudad BBVA play in modernizing the bank's corporate culture?
In 2015 BBVA moved its Madrid operations into Ciudad BBVA, a purpose-built campus in the north of the city whose circular tower, La Vela, became the group's visual landmark. The group kept its registered roots in Bilbao, where Banco de Bilbao was created in 1857.
What is BBVA's current strategic vision for the next decade?
BBVA published a 2025-2029 strategic plan built around the customer perspective and artificial intelligence, and on July 31, 2025 it set financial targets for 2025 to 2028: about $54.2 billion (EUR48 billion) of cumulative net attributable profit and ~$40.7 billion (EUR36 billion) of capital available for distribution to shareholders over the four years.
What does BBVA stand for?
BBVA stands for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, representing the massive, multi-decade sequence of mergers between Spain's largest historic regional banks.
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