Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 13, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 13, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleBBVA's chairman and CEO saw a 3% pay cut in 2025 after a failed bid for Sabadell. Despite the setback, BBVA posted a record net profit and aims for significant growth by 2028.
MADRID, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The total remuneration package of BBVA's executive chairman Carlos Torres and chief executive officer Onur Genc fell around 3% in 2025 from 2024, according to the bank's annual remuneration report published on Friday.
The lower remuneration comes after BBVA failed in its over 16 billion euro ($19 billion) hostile takeover bid for Sabadell.
A spokesperson for the lender said that the executives' salary package was not linked to the outcome of the bid, but due to some short-term incentives not being met.
Torres' total remuneration, including fixed and a variable package, fell 3% in 2025 to 8.108 million euros, while in the case of Genc, it fell 2.5% to 6.97 million euros.
In October, Torres said he would not resign after the collapse of the Spanish bank's 18-month campaign to take over its smaller rival, adding that he and Genc had the support of the entire BBVA board.
Since the bid's failure, shares in BBVA have risen 22%, while Sabadell's have fallen over 2%.
As part of its strategic plan announced last July, BBVA aims to earn accumulated net attributable profit of about 48 billion euros in the 2025-2028 period while also envisaging shareholder distributions of 36 billion euros in four years.
Earlier this month, BBVA posted a record 10.51 billion euros net profit for 2025.
($1 = 0.8425 euros)
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; Editing by Nia Williams)
Executive compensation refers to the financial payment and benefits provided to top management in a company, including salaries, bonuses, stock options, and other perks.
A hostile takeover occurs when an acquiring company attempts to take control of a target company against the wishes of the target's management.
Net profit is the amount of money remaining after all expenses, taxes, and costs have been subtracted from total revenue. It indicates a company's profitability.
Short-term incentives are performance-based bonuses that reward executives for achieving specific financial or operational goals within a year.
Corporate governance is the system of rules, practices, and processes by which a company is directed and controlled, ensuring accountability and transparency.
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