Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Turkish lender Garanti Bank posted a near 50 percent drop in third-quarter net profits on Oct. 27, falling short of market expectations and Reuters estimates, due to a rise in commercial losses and shrinkage in net fee commission revenue. 

Garanti Bank became the only Turkish company to qualify for the Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Markets Index, according to the Turkish lender owned by Spain's BBVA.

Spanish lender BBVA has become the leading shareholder in Garanti, Turkey?s largest bank in terms of market capitalization, the companies said on July 27 in a joint press conference. 

After completing the transaction announced last November to acquire an additional 14.89 percent holding, the BBVA Group now owns to 39.9 percent of Garanti.

Turkish developer Garanti Koza will build a 240 million euros ($260 million) commercial and residential complex in Sofia, one of the biggest private-sector property projects in Bulgaria, the company said on July 21.

The Black Sea state needs foreign investment to spur growth and help reduce fiscal deficits that have put pressure on its lev currency peg to the euro.

Spanish bank BBVA is considering making an offer for British bank HSBC?s businesses in Brazil and Turkey, senior bank executive Vicente Rodero said at an annual meeting in Mexico City, website CNNExpansion reported on June 10.

By Cecile Vannucci

Equity markets in Spain and Greece fell, while European stocks were little changed as holidays across the region curbed trading volume.

Net profit more than doubled at Spanish lender BBVA in the first quarter from a year ago, as its Turkish arm, Garanti Bankasi also increases profits. 

Like Spanish peer Santander, BBVA makes more than 80 percent of its profit overseas, a model that helped it to counter a double-dip recession at home in recent years.

Spanish lender BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) has acquired control of Garanti Bank, one of Turkey's biggest lenders, by raising its stakes to almost 40 percent.