In a bid to deal with both the negatives and the positives, BBVA has been on the acquisition trail in the US in order to exploit its Mexican franchise, where its BBVA Bancomer bank is responsible for about 40% of Mexican remittances. Around six million Mexican families receive funds from relatives living abroad.
Buying Laredo National Bancshares in 2005, as well as Texas Regional Bancshares and State National Bancshares last month, represents the part-fulfilment of this strategy. The Spanish bank’s interest in buying up more local banks has not ceased, although the rise in the prices of local targets is making them less attractive.
