Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain’s second-largest bank, agreed to buy Laredo National Bancshares Inc. for $850 million, gaining a foothold in the U.S. and access to one of the largest Hispanic markets outside Spain.
Banco Bilbao said the Laredo, Texas-based bank, with $3.4 billion of assets, has a 23 percent market share along the Texas- Mexico border. Last week BBVA bought Hipotecaria Nacional SA, Mexico’s No. 1 specialty mortgage lender, for $375 million.
“This transaction gives us a leadership position in a key region of our plan for the U.S.,” BBVA Chairman Francisco Gonzalez said in a statement to regulators.
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