BBVA, Spain¡¯s second-largest bank, plans to start a brokerage business in Japan as part of the firm¡¯s global expansion drive, according to people familiar with the matter.
The lender, based in the city of Bilbao in Spain, aims to establish a local securities subsidiary in Japan by the end of the year, subject to approval by Japan¡¯s Financial Services Agency, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. That would make it the first Spanish firm to operate a brokerage house in the Asian economy.
BBVA and its larger Spanish rival Banco Santander are working to strengthen investment banking operations as they seek to balance business models that focus on serving retail clients. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, as the lender is formally known, posted a record €6.6 billion ($7.8 billion) in revenue at its Corporate and Investment Banking unit last year and is aiming to double the total from 2024 levels by 2029.
The planned subsidiary will target regional banks and insurers, among others, as potential institutional clients in Japan, the people said. It will seek to tap Japanese demand for investments tied to U.S. project finance loans ¡ª an area where the Spanish lender has been expanding ¡ª in addition to eurozone bonds and products linked to Latin America, they added.
A representative for BBVA declined to comment.
The entry of major foreign firms could bolster efforts by Japanese policymakers to remake Tokyo as an Asian financial hub to rival Singapore and Hong Kong. Longbridge, a Singapore-based online brokerage startup, is also looking to enter the Japanese market this year to capitalize on a retail investment boom. Bank of Montreal has been hiring senior bankers to expand its brokerage business in Tokyo.
BBVA has operated a commercial banking business in Japan since 2005 and is the only Spanish lender in the country. The bank has hired Yuko Kamiya, a former head of Bank of Montreal¡¯s Japan securities business, to lead the planned subsidiary.
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