- BBVA is preparing to open an investment banking office in Miami as the Spanish lender expands its US corporate and investment banking operations and strengthens its links with Latin American clients, Bloomberg reported Friday.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BME: BBVA) is planning a new Miami investment banking operation as it looks to build a larger presence in the US financial market, according to Bloomberg. The move would expand BBVA's existing Miami footprint. The bank already operates a wealth-management business in the city serving high-net-worth Latin American clients, while its broader US Corporate & Investment Banking network includes offices in New York and Houston.
The planned investment banking office would give BBVA another base from which to pursue corporate finance, capital-markets and advisory opportunities involving US companies and Latin American businesses.
The expansion comes as BBVA's wholesale banking business is producing strong growth. BBVA reported that Corporate & Investment Banking revenue reached €4.251 billion in the first half of 2026, up 24% year over year, while Investment Banking & Finance revenue increased 41%.
Why Is BBVA Opening an Investment Banking Office in Miami?
Miami has become an important financial gateway for companies and wealthy clients with ties between the US and Latin America, making the city a natural extension of BBVA's existing regional network.
BBVA already established BBVA Global Wealth Advisors in Miami to provide investment advisory services to high-net-worth Latin American customers. The bank announced that it will begin operations in 2024, describing Miami as the headquarters for the new US wealth-management platform.
The wealth operation remains based in Miami. BBVA Global Wealth Advisors lists its Miami location at the Courvoisier Centre and describes its US presence as being built around major financial gateways. The proposed investment banking office would therefore add a different business line rather than represent BBVA's first entry into Miami.
BBVA's existing Miami operation is focused on wealth management, while its Corporate & Investment Banking business serves international corporations and institutional investors through investment banking, markets, lending and transaction services. BBVA CIB currently operates across 25 countries.
The Miami expansion also fits BBVA's broader strategy of increasing its US banking capabilities. In 2025, the bank opened a new Houston office that brought together Corporate & Investment Banking, wealth services and an energy and cleantech advisory operation. BBVA said Houston would serve as a platform for expanding its CIB business and supporting cross-border activity involving Mexico.
BBVA has also described the US as one of its key growth markets. In a 2025 interview, the bank's global head of sustainability and CIB said the US was the market where BBVA was growing the most with large companies, citing opportunities linked to energy, infrastructure and data-center investment.
That strategy gives Miami a different role from Houston and New York. Houston provides exposure to energy, infrastructure and Mexico-linked corporate activity, while New York is an established financial center. Miami offers BBVA a location closely connected to Latin American wealth and cross-border business.
BBVA's US Investment Banking Push Comes as CIB Revenue Surges
The timing of the Miami expansion is notable because BBVA's Corporate & Investment Banking business has been growing rapidly. BBVA reported €2.054 billion in attributable profit from CIB during the first half of 2026, representing a 20.7% increase from the prior year at constant exchange rates. Wholesale lending balances rose 19.5% from the end of 2025, with the United States, Europe and Asia driving much of the increase.
Investment Banking & Finance was one of the strongest-performing divisions. BBVA said IB&F revenue increased 41% year over year during the first half, with project finance and corporate lending among the businesses supporting growth.
The bank also reported that net interest income in CIB increased 26.2%, while net fees and commissions rose 26.9%, helped by project finance, corporate lending and working-capital and trade-finance activity.
Those numbers provide the financial backdrop for BBVA's US expansion. The bank is not simply adding offices while waiting for its wholesale business to develop; its CIB operation is already generating higher revenue and expanding its loan book.
The US is particularly important to that growth. BBVA's first-half report said wholesale lending was driven by activity in the United States, Europe, and Asia, with the US specifically highlighted alongside Asia for growth in Investment Banking & Finance and transactional banking during the second quarter.