Spain

Awards of Excellence
Western Europe regional awards

BBVA has suffered from being in the shadow of larger compatriot Santander, which has made waves at home and abroad with flashy acquisitions and its impressive efficiency. But BBVA is also an impressively efficient bank and in its home market is a most worthy competitor to Santander. The bank has built up a strong local derivatives business and its asset management division has had some successes.

In recognition of these accomplishments and some smart lending decisions that have insulated it better than its rival from Spain’s worrying real estate market, BBVA is Euromoney’s choice for best bank in Spain this year.

Topping both the M&A and ECM league tables with twice as many deals as its closest rivals in ECM and twice as much in both value and number of deals in M&A has made Morgan Stanley a clear leader in Spanish investment banking over the past year.

Morgan Stanley worked on many of the most high profile and innovative transactions for top Spanish corporates including BBVA, Santander and Telefónica and has been a leader in the real estate sector with deals such as the acquisition of Fadesa by Martinsa and Immobiliaria Urbis by Grupo Reyal.