BBVA Provincial
# BBVA Provincial

BBVA Provincial (BVC: BPV) (formerly BBVA Banco Provincial) is a financial institution in Venezuela.

## History

Founded on October 15, 1953, in Caracas, Venezuela, as Banco Provincial with a capital of Bs. 15,000,000. In November 1996, Banco Provincial became the first universal bank in Venezuela by expanding its business objectives to include activities of specialized banking.

In 1997, Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (now Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) acquired the majority of shares as a strategy of expansion into Latin America. BBVA's entry in Venezuela coincided with Hugo Chávez' presidential election.

Once Nicolás Maduro came to power in Venezuela, the bank's benefits dropped from 369 million euros in 2013 to -13 million euros in 2017. While Banco Santander shut its Venezuelan operations in 2009, BBVA chose to maintain theirs despite the economic crisis.

