BBVA profit falls by 54%

Banco Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) - 1Q16 pre-tax profit of €709m ($802.80m), down 54% YoY, well below expectations, due in part by the currency turmoil and weaker trading income.

MADRID--Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA BBVA on Thursday reported a 54% drop in first-quarter net profit to 709 million euros ($802.80 million) from the year-ago period, dragged down in part by currency turmoil and weaker trading income.

That was well below analysts' estimates. Analysts had anticipated BBVA, Spain's No. 2 bank by market value, would report net profit of EUR840 million in the first quarter, according to a poll by data provider FactSet. First-quarter results in 2015 had also been boosted by the partial sale of BBVA's stake in a Chinese lender.