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| - Spain's second-largest bank BBVA said Monday it had agreed to sell its US unit to PNC Financial Services for $11.6 billion (9.7 billion euros). The all-cash deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, will create the fifth-largest retail bank in the United States by assets when it is completed, most likely in mid-2021, BBVA said in a statement. "This is a very positive transaction for all sides," BBVA executive chairman Carlos Torres Vila said in the statement. "The deal enhances our already strong financial position. We will have ample flexibility to profitably deploy capital in our markets, strengthening our long-term growth profile and supporting economies in the recovery phase," he added. The price which Pittsburg-based PNC Financial Services has agreed to pay represents 19.7 times the unit's earings last year and amounts to nearly 50 percent of BBVA's current market capitalisation, according to BBVA. BBVA's unit in the United States is based in the Sunbelt, with leading market shares in Texas, Alabama and Arizona. BBVA's total net profit in the third quarter fell 6.8 percent to 1.14 billion euros, a much smaller decline than had been expected by analysts. tpe/ds/chz/bmm
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