On Nov. 19, 2014, Spanish Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) announced its intention to acquire an additional 14.89% stake in Turkish bank Turkiye Garanti Bankasi, increasing its interest in the bank to 39.9%. In addition, BBVA completed on November 20 a €2 billion capital increase to finance the acquisition. As the correction of economic imbalances in Spain progresses, trends in the real estate market stabilize, and the economy returns to growth, we expect banks' credit provisions to decline further. In our view, the economic risks faced by the Spanish banking system are abating, albeit from a high level, and the trend is stable. We are affirming our 'BBB' long-term and 'A-2' short-term ratings on BBVA. The stable outlook on
