| Banco BBVA Argentina S.A. | |
| Type: | Sociedad Anónima |
| Traded As: | MERVAL component |
| Location: | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Key People: | Jorge Carlos Bledel (CEO) |
| Num Employees: | 6,009 (2023) |
| Industry: | Financial services |
| Products: | Banking, Insurance |
| Parent: | Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria |
| Revenue: | US$ 1.4 billion (2023)[1] |
| Net Income: | US$ 1.45 billion (2023) |
| Assets: | US$ 24.4 million (2023) |
BBVA Argentina, formerly BBVA Banco Francés, is a financial institution in Argentina.
Founded on October 14, 1886, in Buenos Aires as Banco Francés del Río de la Plata (English: French Bank of the River Plate), it is the oldest private bank in Argentina. Its Beaux-Arts headquarters, designed by Jorge Bunge, were inaugurated in 1926.
Morgan Guaranty Trust acquired a 50% share in the bank in 1968, though the New York-based bank sold most of these to Alpargatas, a leading local industrial firm, a decade later.[2]
Despite the nation's economic woes during the 1980s, the Banco Francés expanded from 15 branches to 62 during the decade, and entered into a joint venture with Bankers Trust Company in 1986. Alpargatas sold its stake to local developer Eduardo Constantini in 1991, and entered into a second joint venture with Merrill Lynch in 1992.
In December 1996, Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya, (now Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria), acquired the 99.9% of the common shares of Otar S.R.L., which was a major shareholder of Sud América Inversiones S.A., and holder of over 30% of the capital of Banco Francés, hence the BBVA in its name.[2]
The bank announced in 2013 it would relocate its headquarters to the Consultatio Tower, in the Catalinas Norte office park, upon the Tower's completion in 2015.[3]
In 2019, BBVA unified its brand worldwide and BBVA Francés was renamed BBVA.[4]
In 2023, BBVA Argentina had 243 branches (56 of them digital and 24 fully digital), 895 ATMs, and 861 ATSs across the country.[5]