Spanish lender OK'd to open branch

SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's financial watchdog said Wednesday that it gave the green light to Spanish lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) to establish a branch in Seoul. The branch, scheduled to start operation in September, will have an initial operating fund of 3 billion won (US$284,000) and focus on corporate lending and trade financing, the Financial Services Commission said. Headquartered in the Spanish city of Bilbao, BBVA will be the first Spanish lender to set up a branch in South Korea. According to the banking magazine Banker, BBVA is the 35th-largest lender in the world by assets. As of end-2010, the lender's assets totaled 552.7 billion euros ($786 billion) with its capital adequacy ratio reaching 13.6 percent. Currently, 37 foreign lenders from 15 countries operate a total of 53 branches in South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy.