BBVA More Interested In US, Asia Deals Than UK -Chairman

14th Jun 2010 14:54

SANTANDER, Spain (EFE Dow Jones)--Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA) remains interested in growing in the U.S. and Asia, and is less focused on the U.K. market, Chairman Francisco Gonzalez said Monday. "Our market is elsewhere," he said when asked during a conference if the Spanish bank made a bid for the branches that the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) has put up for sale. However, he declined to comment on whether BBVA had filed a bid for RBS's branches, saying bank policy isn't to comment on individual deals. Bids for the RBS assets are due later Monday, and BBVA had been looking at it in recent months. Banco Santander SA (STD) will likely be the only bank to file a binding bid, the Financial Times reported Monday. RBS, 83% controlled by the U.K. government, has put its U.K. and Welsh branches up for sale together with its NatWest branches in Scotland and some U.K. corporate accounts, as part of a divestment process imposed by the European Union. -By Pablo Domínguez, EFE Dow Jones, +34 914518269, [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 14, 2010 09:54 ET (13:54 GMT)