Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. vs Banco Santander, S.A.: Strategic Comparison

This in-depth comparison examines Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. and Banco Santander, S.A. across revenue, market value, business model, competitive positioning, and long-term growth strategy. Whether you are researching Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. on its own, evaluating Banco Santander, S.A., or weighing the two companies side by side, the breakdown below highlights where each company leads and where the gap between Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. and Banco Santander, S.A. is widest.

On the headline numbers, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. reports annual revenue of ~$41.7B against ~$52.9B for Banco Santander, S.A., while their respective market capitalizations stand at $139.7B and $211.5B. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. is headquartered in Spain and Banco Santander, S.A. operates from Spain, and those different home markets shape how each company competes.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.: BBVA is a Spanish banking group that earns more abroad than at home. It is Spain's second-largest bank, but Mexico produced ~$5.95B (EUR5.264B) of its ~$11.9B (EUR10.511B) net attributable profit in 2025, with Turkey, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and a corporate and investment banking arm making up the rest. The group employed 127,174 people at the end of 2025 and served 81.2 million active customers.

Banco Santander, S.A.: Banco Santander is a mass-market retail and commercial bank headquartered in Boadilla del Monte near Madrid. At June 2026 it had about 185,000 employees, 182 million customers, 3.5 million shareholders and ~$2.2 trillion (EUR 1.95 trillion) in total assets. Its core markets are Spain, the UK, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and the US, after the 2026 exit from controlling Santander Bank Polska.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. and Banco Santander, S.A. pursue distinct approaches to generating revenue, and understanding how each company operates is the foundation of any fair comparison between Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. and Banco Santander, S.A..

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. business model: BBVA runs a universal banking model built on local subsidiaries that fund themselves with local deposits, so a shock in one country does not drain the parent. Customer deposits reached ~$568B (EUR502.5B) at the end of 2025 against ~$534B (EUR472.7B) of gross loans, and net interest income of ~$29.7B (EUR26.280B) provided about 71 percent of gross income. Fees from payments, cards, asset management and insurance added ~$9.28B (EUR8.215B) and net trading income ~$3B (EUR2.656B). Distribution is mostly digital: 81.2 million active customers were served through 5,642 branches and 31,015 ATMs, and the efficiency ratio of 38.8 percent is one of the lowest among large European banks.

Banco Santander, S.A. business model: Santander makes most of its money from net interest income: it gathers customer deposits (~$1.28 trillion (EUR 1.13 trillion) at June 2026) and lends them out as mortgages, consumer and auto loans, and business credit (~$1.3 trillion (EUR 1.15 trillion) of loans). In 2025 net interest income was ~$47.8 billion (EUR 42.3 billion) and net fee income ~$15.5 billion (EUR 13.7 billion). The group now runs five global businesses: Retail & Commercial Banking; Openbank (consumer finance and the digital bank, renamed from Digital Consumer Bank in Q1 2026); Corporate & Investment Banking; Wealth Management & Insurance; and Payments (Getnet and Ebury). Local banks are run as capital- and liquidity-self-sufficient subsidiaries.

The durability of a company's moat often decides long-term winners. Here is how the competitive advantages of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. stack up against those of Banco Santander, S.A..

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. competitive advantage: BBVA's first advantage is scale in Mexico, where BBVA Mexico is the largest bank in the country and produced ~$5.95B (EUR5.264B) of net attributable profit in 2025, close to half the group total. The second is cost: operating expenses grew 1.0 percent in euros in 2025 while gross income grew 4.1 percent, holding the efficiency ratio at 38.8 percent with a branch network trimmed to 5,642 offices. Group ROTE of 19.3 percent is a level BBVA describes as leading among large European banks.

Banco Santander, S.A. competitive advantage: Santander's edge is scale in a few markets where it holds top positions, combined with a shared operating model. Retail franchises in Spain, the UK, Brazil and Mexico provide low-cost deposits, while ONE Transformation moves local banks onto common technology and products (including the Gravity cloud core-banking platform). The aim is to build features once and reuse them in every country. Management credits this for cost discipline: the 2025 cost-to-income ratio was 41.2%, low for a large European bank.

Future prospects matter as much as current results. The growth strategies below explain how Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. and Banco Santander, S.A. each plan to expand from here.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. growth strategy: After the Banco Sabadell offer lapsed in October 2025, BBVA's growth plan rests on organic lending, digital expansion in Europe and capital returns. Loans and advances to customers grew 11.5 percent in 2025 and customer funds 13.5 percent. The group opened a branch-free digital bank in Italy in October 2021, which passed 800,000 customers by its fourth anniversary and targets one million during 2026, and launched a second digital bank in Germany in June 2025. Capital released by the 2021 transfer of BBVA USA to PNC still underpins buybacks and dividends, with half of 2025 profit earmarked for shareholders.

Banco Santander, S.A. growth strategy: Growth in 2026 comes from three levers. First, M&A in markets where Santander already has scale: TSB adds over four million UK customers and at least ~$528 million (GBP 400 million) of expected cost synergies, and Webster Bank gives Santander US a larger deposit base, with a target of 18% US RoTE by 2028. Second, Openbank, which combines consumer finance with the digital bank and launched in the US in 2024 to fund auto lending with online deposits. Third, fee businesses: wealth management (~$657 billion (EUR 581 billion) of assets under management at June 2026), CIB advisory and the Getnet and Ebury payments platforms.

A closer look at the financial trajectory of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. and Banco Santander, S.A. rounds out the comparison.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.: BBVA's profit is spread across five business areas. In 2025 Spain contributed ~$4.72B (EUR4.175B) of net attributable profit, Mexico ~$5.95B (EUR5.264B), Turkey ~$910M (EUR805M), South America ~$820M (EUR726M) and Rest of Business ~$709M (EUR627M), while the Corporate Center recorded a ~$1.23B (EUR1.086B) loss. Gross income rose 4.1 percent in reported euros but 16.3 percent at constant exchange rates, the gap being mostly the weaker Mexican peso. Loan-loss impairments were ~$6.86B (EUR6.073B) with a cost of risk of 1.39 percent, and the NPL ratio improved to 2.7 percent with 85 percent coverage. CET1 capital closed at 12.70 percent against a 9.28 percent requirement, and BBVA set total 2025 shareholder distributions at 50 percent of profit, EUR0.92 per share in cash.

Banco Santander, S.A.: Total income rose from about $64.4 billion (EUR 57 billion) in 2023 to ~$70.5 billion (EUR 62.4 billion) in 2025, and attributable profit grew from ~$12.5 billion (EUR 11.1 billion) to ~$15.9 billion (EUR 14.1 billion). Geographic spread smooths results: Europe, North America and South America each contribute a large share of profit. Capital is returned under a policy of distributing about 50% of profit, split between cash dividends and buybacks; the September 2026 interim cash dividend was 12.7 euro cents per share, up 10%. The 2028 plan targets RoTE above 20% and profit above ~$22.6 billion (EUR 20 billion).