BBVA approves 16% increase in 2026 interim cash dividend

MADRID, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Spanish bank BBVA has approved a record interim cash dividend of €0.37 ($0.42) per share, a 16% increase on a year earlier, the euro zone's second-largest lender by market value said on Thursday.

• In total, the bank will distribute approximately €2 billion to shareholders

• BBVA said the payout was in line with its shareholder remuneration policy, which targets distributing 40% to 50% of consolidated ordinary profit through dividends and, where appropriate, share buybacks

• When it announced its medium-term strategic targets in July 2025, BBVA estimated it would have €49 billion in core-quality capital (CET1), at least €13 billion of which would be used to fund organic growth, with the remaining roughly €36 billion allocated to shareholder remuneration

• Since then, the bank has paid €5.2 billion in dividends on 2025 earnings and completed two share buybacks: one for €993 million as part of its ordinary 2024 shareholder remuneration and another extraordinary buyback of €3.96 billion

• In addition, it has announced a further extraordinary €2 billion share buyback programme, the first tranche of which is nearing completion

($1 = 0.8839 euros)

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado. Editing by Mark Potter)