BBVA has agreed to sell 100% of its subsidiary in Romania, Garanti BBVA, to the Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International for 591 million euros. The transaction, which also includes the associated leasing business, is pending regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Exit from a non-strategic market
The Romanian subsidiary of BBVA represented a business of limited size within the group: it had a market share close to 2% and assets of around 4,000 million euros, which placed it as the tenth entity in the country.
The operation culminates a strategic review process initiated weeks ago and represents, in practice, the exit of BBVA from a market considered non-priority within its international structure.
Impact on results and capital
One of the key elements of the operation is its immediate financial effect:
- Improvement of about 10 basis points in the CET1 ratio (highest quality capital)
- Positive impact of 112 million euros on the income statement
This capital reinforcement allows the bank to gain margin for future investments or to strengthen its shareholder remuneration policy. Although the operation has a clear positive impact on solvency and profits, in market terms it is a divestment in an asset of limited weight within the group, so its effect on share price is moderate and more structural than immediate.
The sale fits into a broader strategy of the Spanish bank: geographical simplification, concentration in key markets (Spain, Mexico, Turkey) and capital optimization.
For Raiffeisen Bank International, the operation has an opposite reading: it allows it to gain scale in a key market like Romania. After the acquisition, its subsidiary will become the third largest bank in the country by asset volume, consolidating its position in Central and Eastern Europe.
Divestment allows BBVA:
- Free up capital and improve its solvency
- Increase its accounting result in the fiscal year
- Reduce exposure to low-scale markets
- Strengthen its focus on strategic geographies
At the same time, it maintains intact its global positioning as one of the main European banks, with special weight in Latin America and Turkey.