15 Oct, 2026
BBVA bets on Latin America to accelerate corporate, investment banking push
By Bea Laforga
BBVA wants to compete better with US banks in Latin America by leveraging its global presence and large customer base, CEO Onur Genç said at a conference in September. The bank is also said to be considering setting up an investment and corporate banking office in Miami, where it operates a private banking business focused on South American clients, Bloomberg News reported Sept. 25, citing people with knowledge of the plan.
Mexico and South America are projected to offer some of the strongest profit and revenue growth among the regions the bank operates in through 2030, Visible Alpha consensus estimates data shows. Both are expected to deliver a better return than BBVA's home market, and lag only Turkey, to which the bank applies hyperinflationary accounting principles.
"There are many Mexican clients who do a lot of business in Latin America, in Argentina, in Colombia, in Peru, we are there. And why were they banking with the US banks in the CIB business? It didn't make sense. So we wanted to own that business," Genç said at the Bank of America Financials CEO Conference on Sept. 22.
The bank's revenue from Mexico — BBVA's largest income source — is expected to expand 15.3% in 2026, and maintain growth rates ranging 4.4% to 9.3% from 2027 to 2030, Visible Alpha data shows. South America revenue is set to grow 22.4% in 2026, and range from 5.6% to 8.9% over the subsequent four years.
Expanding global reach
The bank has significant growth opportunities to build on its existing franchises in the region and connect them more effectively with its global CIB platform, Verónica Incera, head of BBVA CIB in Latin America, told S&P Global Market Intelligence via email. This would deepen the bank's CIB presence across markets, especially in areas where its business model is still being developed, such as Uruguay, Chile and Venezuela, Incera said.
Simultaneously, a global platform would support Latin American companies seeking to invest, access financing or raise capital internationally, while helping foreign firms and investors access opportunities across the region.
"This is particularly powerful in the Americas," Incera said. "We can connect the US and its deep capital markets with Mexico and Latin America, where BBVA has strong franchises, longstanding client relationships and local knowledge."
BBVA's CIB unit reported a 21.6% year-over-year surge in first-half revenue, reaching a record €4.25 billion, according to a company press release. This was propped up by a 21% jump in cross-border revenues, which accounted for 40% of total client revenues.
Trends reshaping the global economy, such as nearshoring, supply chain reconfiguration, growing trade and investment flows, are also opening up more cross-border opportunities for BBVA, Incera said.
LatAm in the spotlight
BBVA believes broader US-Mexico economic flows and significant public investment plan in key sectors will support its CIB business in Mexico, while there is room to deepen penetration in South America amid strong demand to mobilize capital in areas like infrastructure, energy and economic transformation.
"Mexico has a particularly distinctive position because of the scale of BBVA's franchise and the country's deep integration with the US economy," Álvaro Vaqueiro, who heads BBVA CIB in Mexico, said in emailed comments. "Being able to connect clients and capital across those regions [Mexico, South America and Europe] is an important part of the opportunity."
Grupo Financiero BBVA México SA de CV, BBVA's Mexican unit, is the sixth-biggest Latin American bank by total assets, according to Market Intelligence data.
BBVA's Mexico revenue is projected to grow nearly 30% between 2026 and 2030, while revenue from South America is anticipated to increase almost 32% during the same period, Visible Alpha consensus estimates show.
Under its 2024-2028 strategy, the bank aims for revenue growth in the high-single digit for Mexico and growth in the high-teens for South America.
BBVA's CIB push in Latin America comes as the region's banking sector emerges as one of the most profitable in the world.
Return on equity at Latin American banks averaged around 16.1% in 2021 to 2024, compared to 8.6% in Europe, 10.9% in North America, 9.3% in China and 8.0% in the rest of Asia, according to a June 11 McKinsey report.
This is in part driven by CIB, which makes up more than 37.5% of banking revenue in the region, the consultancy said.
"Banks with strong sector franchises can structure risk more effectively and manage long-term exposures with greater precision, reducing loss volatility while sustaining attractive returns," McKinsey wrote.
BBVA and its Spanish peers Banco Santander SA and CaixaBank SA have grown their CIB businesses in recent years to boost revenues outside core retail banking. However, their size and product offering still pales in comparison to US and European investment banking giants like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS Group AG.
At the September conference, Genç said he was optimistic the bank's CIB division would gain market share by sticking to its prudent and client-centric approach.
"Our CIB business is conservative risk, follow your clients and deliver above cost of equity. That's the play there," he noted.
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