BBVA increases investment in U.K. digital bank Atom

BBVA has pledged $36 million as part of new funding round for the U.K. digital bank Atom.

In 2015 the Spanish bank took a 29.5% stake in Atom, which was the U.K.'s first mobile-only bank. BBVA said Friday that the latest investment will allow it to continue as Atom’s main strategic investor and maintain the size of its stake.

BBVA will keep two seats on Atom’s board of directors and will “continue to bring knowledge and support to Atom’s development,” the bank said.

Woodford Investment Management and Toscafund, the other prominent shareholders in Atom, are also participating in the capital increase.

“Atom has a lot of promise, with tremendous opportunities for growth,” Javier Rodríguez Soler, global head of strategy and M&A at BBVA, said in a press release. “It allows BBVA to further its transformation and maintain its commitment to the British market.”

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A BBVA logo sits on display outside a Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA bank branch in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday, July 22, 2014. BBVA, Spain's second-biggest bank, agreed to purchase state-run Catalunya Banc SA for 1.19 billion euros ($1.6 billion) as the government lined up buyers for nationalized lenders. Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg

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