Citic Bank to buy holding in financial unit from Spain's BBVA

China Citic Bank has agreed to purchase Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA’s (BBVA.NYSE) 29.7% stake in Citic International Financial Holdings for HK$8.16 billion (US$1.05 billion), Bloomberg reported, citing a filing by Citic Bank with the Hong Kong stock exchange. The purchase from Spain’s second-largest bank will make Citic Bank the sole owner of Citic International Financial Holdings. BBVA said last year it sold 5.1% of Citic Bank to parent Citic Group Corp., a move that followed other global banks divesting themselves of stakes in Chinese financial institutions as new international rules make it expensive to hold minority stakes in lenders.