BBVA Gets OK to Integrate U.S. Subsidiaries Into Compass

MADRID --Spanish banking giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, or BBVA said Monday it has received regulatory clearance to merge its four U.S. subsidiaries into a single bank.

BBVA, Spain's second-biggest bank by market value, said it will fold The Laredo National Bank, State National Bank and Texas State Bank into Compass Bank, making the merged entity the largest financial institution in the Sunbelt region.

BBVA, which has spent around $13 billion on acquisitions in the U.S. during the last four years, got the authorization to merge its U.S. banks late last week from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

The bank said it expects the integration to be completed before the end of 2008.

Once the merger is completed, Compass will have total assets of approximately $58.6 billion and will operate 593 branches across the Sunbelt region.