BBVA, the second-largest bank in Spain, has announced that it would increase its holding stake in China Citic Bank (CNCB) from 10% to 15% for about 1 billion euros (1.58 billion dollars).

According to the statement issued by the Spanish stock exchange officials, BBVA will buy additional 4.93% of Citic for about HK$6.45 per share.

The bank said in a statement that the purchase would take BBVA’s interest to 15%, at the cost of around 1 billion euros.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) SA, the second-largest bank in Spain, aims to increase its stake in China CITIC Bank Corp to 15%.

Earlier, it hold 10% equity stake in the stake in China CITIC Bank, which is the listed banking unit of the China’s largest investment conglomerate.

According to the sources, the Spanish lender expects to allocate EUR 1.1 billion to buy a 5% stake in China CITIC Bank at HK$6.45 per share.

The move is in proportion to BBVA’s strategy to merge its position as a leading foreign investor in China’s banking industry.

BBVA reports a 3.3 per cent down in net profit

Spain's second-largest bank BBVA, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, has reported a 3.3 per cent decline in its net profit for the nine-months.

The net revenue has slipped 3.3 per cent to 4.179 billion euros, which is almost equal to the analyst’s predicted value of 4.106 billion.

However, the capital ratio of the bank witnessed an increase and it has reached 8 per cent from 7.1 per cent three months ago.