BBVA vs Roche: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: BBVA and Roche side by side

1. 1857BBVA

   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.

2. 1896Roche

   F. Hoffmann-La Roche Founded in Basel

   Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche founds the enterprise in Basel, Switzerland, pioneering mass-manufactured, chemically standardized prescription pharmaceuticals.

3. 1898Roche

   Commercial Breakthrough with Sirolin

   Roche launches non-prescription cough syrup Sirolin, achieving widespread international distribution and financing early clinical laboratories.

4. 1901BBVA

   Banco 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.

5. 1934Roche

   First Industrial Synthesis of Vitamin C

   Roche becomes the first company to mass-produce synthetic Vitamin C (Redoxon) at industrial scale, anchoring decades of high-margin global cash flow.

6. 1963Roche

   Launch of Valium (Diazepam)

   Roche introduces Valium, which becomes the world's most widely prescribed psychotropic medication and establishes global pharmaceutical leadership.

7. 1968Roche

   Establishment of Roche Diagnostics

   Roche launches its dedicated diagnostic division, laying the foundation to become the world's preeminent in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) provider.

8. 1988BBVA

   Banco 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.

9. 1999BBVA

   BBV 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.

10. 2000BBVA

    BBVA 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.

11. 2004BBVA

    BBVA 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.

12. 2007BBVA

    Compass 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.

13. 2008Roche

    Severin Schwan becomes CEO

    Severin Schwan became CEO of F. Hoffmann-La Roche in 2008. Led Roche for 14 years; handed over to Thomas Schinecker in March 2023 and became chairman.

14. 2009Roche

    Full Acquisition of Genentech for $46.8 Billion

    Roche completes its historic $46.8 billion buyout of American biotechnology pioneer Genentech, securing market leadership in oncology biologics.

15. 2010BBVA

    BBVA 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).

16. 2014BBVA

    BBVA 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.

17. 2018BBVA

    Onur 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.

18. 2018Roche

    Foundation Medicine & Flatiron Health Acquisitions

    Roche acquires Foundation Medicine and Flatiron Health, integrating real-world oncology data analytics and genomic profiling into personalized healthcare.

19. 2019BBVA

    BBVA 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.

20. 2021BBVA

    BBVA 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.

21. 2022BBVA

    Tender 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.

22. 2023Roche

    Acquired Telavant

    F. Hoffmann-La Roche acquired Telavant for $7.1 billion. Roche paid $7.1 billion upfront for Telavant to gain US and Japan rights to the anti-TL1A antibody RVT-3101 (afimkibart) for inflammatory bowel disease.

23. 2025BBVA

    The 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.

24. 2025BBVA

    Record 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.

25. 2025Roche

    Group Sales Reach CHF 61.5 Billion

    Under CEO Thomas Schinecker, Roche delivers group sales of ~$73.8 billion (CHF 61.5 billion), driven by ~$57.2B (CHF 47.7B) in Pharmaceuticals and ~$16.6B (CHF 13.8B) in Diagnostics.

26. 2026BBVA

    BBVA 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.

Acquisitions

Questions about BBVA vs Roche