Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbaŋko βilˈβao βiθˈkaʝa arxenˈtaɾja] is a multinational Spanish banking group. It was formed from a merger of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Argentaria in 1999, and is the second largest bank in Spain. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.

Credit ratings

As of March 2013 BBVA had the following debt ratings with the four major rating agencies:

Mergers and acquisitions

In February 2014, BBVA acquired Simple, a then four-year-old direct bank for 117 million. BBVA executive chairman, Francisco González, explained why banks must get with the technology program: "Some bankers and analysts think that Google, Facebook, Amazon or the like will not fully enter a highly regulated, low-margin business such as banking. I disagree. What is more, I think banks that are not prepared for such new competitors face certain death." The banking industry recognizes BBVA to be more pro-technology than many of its competitors.