Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
Spanish banking group

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (Spanish: [ˈbaŋko βilˈβao βiθˈkaʝa aɾxenˈtaɾja]), better known by its initialism BBVA, is a Spanish multinational financial services company headquartered in Bilbao, with operative offices in Madrid. As one of the largest financial institutions globally, BBVA's core markets are primarily concentrated in Spain, Mexico, South America, and Turkey.
The bank was founded as Banco de Bilbao, on 28 May 1857, in Bilbao. BBVA's operational headquarters are located in Madrid, in the Ciudad BBVA complex. It is Spain's second-largest bank after Banco Santander. It is listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and on the Mexican Stock Exchange. It is also a part of the IBEX 35 as well as the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50.
On 2 April 2018, it was ranked the 42nd largest bank in the world by total assets. In 2022, BBVA was recognized as the country's overall best-performing bank by The Banker. BBVA has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervision in late 2014, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the European Central Bank.
The public source identifies “Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria” as spanish banking group. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Banco, Bilbao and Vizcaya.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria”, the useful work is to connect “spanish banking group” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q806189. VIAF identifies the subject as 156510810. The Library of Congress control number is n2003009442. Authority coordinates are 43.260, -2.925. 2 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1857, 2018, 2022 and 2014.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria primary sources, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria archive and Banco research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.