Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbaŋko βilˈβao βiθˈkaʝa aɾxenˈtaɾja]), better known by its initialism BBVA, is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Bilbao, Spain.The history of BBVA began in 1857 in Bilbao, a city located in the Basque part of northern Spain, when the Board of Trade promoted the creation of Banco de Bilbao as an issuing and discount bank.