The agency also rates the institution’s senior unsecured debt not eligible for MREL at A+, and its senior unsecured debt eligible for MREL at A. The short term rating is S-1+, with Stable Outlook

The ratings are based largely on the strength and reliability of BBVA’s retail and commercial banking franchises in several countries and on the strong market positioning in its main countries of operation.

According to Scope, diversification has helped BBVA deliver significant profits during the crisis years, despite the stressed operating environment in Spain. The bank has withstood harsh conditions, peaking with a collapse in its domestic real estate market, significant stress to funding markets and sharply rising yields on domestic sovereign bonds in 2011 and 2012. Despite this, the bank’s capital base has kept growing throughout. With the domestic economic environment improving, the burden of Spanish legacy assets on the group’s earnings capacity has declined, and should fade further thanks to the recent agreement with Cerberus, according to Scope.

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