BBVA Banco Francés is a financial institution in Argentina.
 | |
| Company type | Sociedad Anónima |
|---|---|
| BCBA: FRAN NYSE: BFR BMAD: XBRF | |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Founded | 1886 |
| Headquarters | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Key people | Jorge Carlos Bledel (CEO) |
| Products | Banking, Insurance |
| Revenue |  US$1.3 billion (2013) [1] |
| US$586 million (2013)[1] | |
| Total assets | US$9.1 billion (12/2013)[1] |
Number of employees | 5,200 |
| Parent | Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria |
| Website | bbvafrances.com.ar |
History
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) at the expense of the Argentine customers, 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]
As of December 2013[update] BBVA was the fifth-largest bank in Argentina and the third-largest private one, with deposits of US$6.7 billion and a lending portfolio of US$5.4 billion a(a roughly 6% domestic share in both areas). It maintained 245 branches and almost 1,400 ATMs in Argentina, and employed around 5,200 staff.[3] 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.[4]
References
- ^ a b c "BBVA BANCO FRANCES SA-ADR (BFR:New York): Financial Statements". Businessweek. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ a b "Banco Francés: historia }" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "ABA Ranking" (xls). ABA Argentina.com. December 2013.
- ^ "El BBVA Francés pagó $ 1.200 millones y se quedó con la nueva torre de Costantini". Cronista. 12 July 2013.
