Former Venezuela Government Official Repeats Claim BBVA Unit For Sale

A former top official in Venezuela's government Sunday repeated his claim that the local unit of Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) is being offered up for sale, leading the bank to once again deny it.

Jose Vicente Rangel, who was President Hugo Chavez' vice president until 2007 and now hosts a Sunday talk show, said a week ago that BBVA's Venezuela unit, BBVA Banco Provincial, was up for sale at a price tag of about $2 billion. BBVA quickly denied it and called Rangel's comments "irresponsible."

On Sunday, Rangel stood by his initial comments and said the source who gave him the information is reliable.

"The information I provided wasn't irresponsible," Rangel said. "I suggest speaking to Mr. Angel Cano, the [BBVA] chief operating officer."

Rangel, 81, added that a possible sale of BBVA's Venezuela unit wouldn't necessarily mean the bank is having financial difficulties. Rather, he said that analysts say plans to sell BBVA Banco Provincial "would be part of an offensive against Venezuela by diverse economic and political circles in Spain, with the goal of having investors leaving" Venezuela.

Following his latest comments, BBVA said Sunday it "categorically denies" the talk of any possible sale.

"We reiterate our permanent commitment in Venezuela," the BBVA Group said in a statement on its blog.

BBVA Banco Provincial has been in Venezuela for 11 years and is among its largest banks in terms of deposits held.

Venezuela's banking system went through a mini-crisis a year ago, when Chavez took over a handful of small-sized banks, nationalizing or liquidating them and jailing several bank executives. The takeovers didn't extend to the big banks, and analysts say the overall financial system in this oil-rich nation is relatively healthy.

A Venezuela banking reform bill currently wending its way through the Chavez-controlled legislature would declare that banking activity and banking services are a public service, which some analysts say would make them "expropriatable" companies.

Chavez, who is trying to create socialism in Venezuela, has nationalized more than 200 companies this year from various sectors of the economy. That's caused many companies, banks included, to wonder if they could be next on the chopping block.

-By Dan Molinski, Dow Jones Newswires; dan.molinski@dowjones.com; telephone 58-414-120-5738.

BBVA Bilbao Vizcaya Arge... (NYSE:BBVA)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024