On March 7, 2012, BBVA announced that Spain's Management Commission of the Banking Restructuring Fund (FROB) accepted its offer to acquire 100% of the shares of Spanish bank Unnim Banc S.A. (UNNIM) for €1. We believe that the terms of the transaction--which include coverage of up to 80% of the losses on UNNIM's €6.4 billion high-risk asset portfolio, net of related credit loss provisions--and the relatively contained risk profile of the assets lying outside the asset protection scheme, significantly mitigate any downside risk to BBVA's financial profile. We are therefore affirming our 'A/A-1' long- and short-term ratings on BBVA. The outlook remains negative and mirrors that on Spain. It also reflects our view that BBVA could underperform our base-case financial
