BBVA eyes 300 bps savings banks' market share

Spain's second largest bank BBVA said on Wednesday it plans to take advantage of the restructuring of the country's savings banks to gain between 200 and 300 basis points market share in three years.

"This (savings banks) restructuring could mean an increase in market share of over 200-300 basis points in the next two-three years," BBVA's director for Spain and Portugal Juan Asua said.

These estimates depend, however, on the extent and depth of the sector shake-up, he said.

BBVA has a 10.6 percent share of the loans' market and 11.6 percent of deposits.

Management said on Wednesday the bank expects to keep gaining market share in Spain, after flagging the first rise in loan growth in a year with first half results.

Spain's 45 savings banks have recently completed a raft of mergers aimed at streamlining the sector by cutting excess capacity and recapitalising the weaker lenders hard hit by the property slump. Four of the 19 remaining banks failed last week's stress tests.