Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), the Spain-based bank, has emerged as the leading contender in the US government auction for the troubled Guaranty Financial – reported Financial Times.
The struggling Texas bank has been on the verge of a collapse ever since the sub-prime crisis has taken over the fiancial markets by storm, and as a result, the US regulators have been trying to sell its $14 billion assets over the past one and half month.
It marks the first instance in which a non-US financial firm has taken over a struggling US bank. It has been reported that as part of the deal, the Spanish bank would have been offered loss sharing protection from FDIC, reported the Daily Mail.
BBVA currently has 600 braches across Florida and California. It had acquired most of them during the 2007 takeover of Birmingham, Alabama-based Compass Bancshares. By acquiring the assets and branch network of Guaranty, BBVA is expecting to expand its network in Texas and California also, reported the Daily Mail.
