Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) used its fourth-quarter results webcast to highlight what management described as a “remarkable” 2025, driven by record earnings, strong loan growth, and higher shareholder distributions despite falling interest rates in core markets.
Record profit and balance sheet growth in 2025
CEO Onur Genç said BBVA increased net attributable profit to a record EUR 10.5 billion, up 4.5% year-over-year in current euros, even as interest rates declined in markets such as Spain and Mexico. Earnings per share rose to EUR 1.78, a 5.8% increase versus 2024.
On the income statement, management cited gross income growth of 16.3% year-over-year at constant euros, including 13.9% growth in net interest income (NII) and 14.6% growth in fee income, combined with “positive jaws” (income growth outpacing costs) and contained impairment charges.
Customer acquisition, AI initiatives, and strategic priorities
BBVA reported a record 11.5 million gross new customers in 2025, which management framed as a key driver of future revenue growth and cross-sell. Genç said revenue per customer in Spain increases by 3.7 times between the first and fifth year of a relationship, and in Mexico, 75% of new credit cards sold in 2025 went to customers acquired in the last five years.
Management also outlined elements of the group’s strategic plan announced in 2025, including a “radical customer perspective” and expanded use of AI. Genç said BBVA is pursuing eight AI-related initiatives (including a digital advisor called “Blue” and an AI assistant for bankers) and that all 127,000 employees have access to OpenAI and Gemini tools. He said the bank is still in the “early innings” of AI adoption but is already seeing positive impacts.
The company highlighted above-average growth in targeted areas including enterprises, sustainability, and capital-light businesses such as insurance, payments, and wealth management.
Spain and Mexico: loan growth offsets rate pressure
Group CFO Luisa Gómez Bravo said Spain delivered “outstanding” results in 2025, with net profit reaching EUR 4.1 billion and loans up 8% year-over-year. She said loan growth more than offset margin pressure from a declining rate environment, supported by robust fees, contained costs, and improving asset quality. Fourth-quarter net profit in Spain exceeded EUR 1 billion.
Gómez Bravo also pointed to strength in consumer and enterprise loan balances and said BBVA gained market share in profitable segments, including a 60 basis point increase in enterprise loan market share over the year. Spain’s efficiency metrics remained strong, with a cost-to-income ratio of 33.1%. Cost of risk improved to 34 basis points in line with guidance, while NPL ratio declined and coverage increased.
In Mexico, management described 2025 as “remarkable,” with full-year earnings supported by 8% core revenue growth year-over-year and continued market share gains. BBVA reported total market share of 25.6%, up close to 30 basis points over the year, and deposit market share up close to 70 basis points. Fourth-quarter net profit was EUR 1.4 billion, up close to 5% quarter-on-quarter.
During Q&A, Genç said BBVA’s Mexico peso deposit cost remained well below the industry, citing 2.5% for BBVA versus 4.11% for the industry (based on end-of-November data used for comparison). He attributed this to BBVA’s transactional deposit base and payroll relationships, noting that about one-third of deposits are in the lowest balance bucket and that the average balance in that bucket is EUR 790. Gómez Bravo added that the bank expects Banxico to continue lowering rates, with a planning assumption of around 6.5% by mid-year, implying some spread compression in 2026 versus 2025.
Capital, buybacks, and dividend plans
On capital, management said CET1 reached 13.75% at December 2025 before capital distributions. Genç detailed quarter-over-quarter CET1 drivers, including 64 basis points from earnings, -34 basis points from dividend and AT1 coupon accruals, and -57 basis points from activity-driven RWA growth. He said operational risk RWA consumption in the fourth quarter was 16 basis points, higher than a typical quarter due to year-end calculations.
Genç said regulatory impacts added 56 basis points to CET1, tied mainly to technical changes including “reversion of some portfolios to standard and to foundation in Spain and in Mexico.” After deducting the EUR 4 billion extraordinary share buyback program, management said CET1 would be 12.70%, and reiterated its intention to return to the group’s capital target range.
BBVA announced a proposed total regular distribution of EUR 5.2 billion for 2025, equivalent to a 50% payout ratio at the top end of policy, to be paid fully in cash through a total dividend of EUR 0.92 per share, which management described as the bank’s highest ever. This includes a final dividend of EUR 0.60 per share expected to be paid in April 2026, complementing the EUR 0.32 per share paid in November.
In addition, the company said it is executing the first EUR 1.5 billion tranche of its EUR 4 billion extraordinary buyback program. Management also reaffirmed flexibility to include buybacks as part of regular payout in future years, noting that 2025’s regular payout was fully cash partly because a large buyback program is running in parallel.
2026 guidance: higher ROTE target and continued momentum
Looking ahead, Genç said the bank expects strong business momentum to continue in 2026, with solid loan growth supporting NII and overall revenue growth, continued cost discipline, and cost of risk broadly aligned with 2025 levels. Management said this translates to a group ROTE target of around 20% in 2026, up from 2025, and a cost-to-income ratio below 40%.
Executives also discussed key assumptions behind guidance during Q&A, including an expectation that the 12-month Euribor would be broadly stable around current levels, with an average of about 2.25 for the year. In Mexico, management reiterated expectations for further rate cuts and acknowledged that spread compression is embedded in guidance. Genç also emphasized the bank’s view that once rates stabilize, activity growth should translate more directly into profit.
BBVA said it plans to hold a series of “BBVA Strategic Talks” in 2026, starting March 10 with Mexico and the enterprises segment.
About Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA)
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA) is a Spanish multinational financial services group headquartered in Bilbao, Spain. The bank traces its roots to several historic regional banks and was formed through a series of mergers that consolidated its position as one of Spain’s largest banking groups. BBVA operates as a universal bank offering a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients.
BBVA’s core businesses include retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management, asset management, and insurance.
