Strong franchise in almost all markets of operation. Diversification benefits provided by foreign operations. Conservative risk management and adequate capitalization. Sound and resilient operating profitability. Business concentration in jurisdictions with higher-than-average economic risk, namely Spain, Turkey, and Latin America. Underperformance of Spanish operations, which account for almost half of BBVA's asset base. The positive outlook on Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) reflects the possibility that we could raise the long-term rating over the next 12-24 months if: The bank's creditworthiness strengthens, driven either by a more supportive economic environment at home, while emerging risks in other markets--namely Turkey and Mexico--remain under control; or by an improvement in our assessment of Spain's banking system industry risks, most likely because of
