--FILE--Vista di un ramo della Cina Citic Bank nella città di Fuzhou, sudest Chinas provincia del Fujian, 19 settembre 2014. Il Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
--FILE--View of a branch of China Citic Bank in Fuzhou city, southeast Chinas Fujian province, 19 September 2014. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA said Friday (23 January 2015) it is selling a 4.9% stake in China Citic Bank Corp. to local firm Xinhu Zhongbao, for HK$13.14 billion ($1.7 billion), as it looks to bolster its balance sheet. BBVA said Friday¯s stake sale will dilute the bank¯s stake in Citic to 4.7% and bring net capital gains of around €400 million ($454.7 million), strengthening its financial cushion. BBVA has been selling off assets in China in recent months, as it seeks to shore up its finances as European regulators toughen postcrisis capital requirements for banks. In October 2013, BBVA cut its stake in China Citic to just below 10%, and in December 2014, it announced the sale of its remaining stake in Citic International, a Hong Kong-based financial-services firm, for €845 million. BBVA said Friday it would first sell the China Citic stake to UBS AG. UBS¯s London branch will then transfer the stake to Xinhu Zhongbao. BBVA said it expects the deal to be closed in the first quarter of this year.
