The bank's shares have soared in recent years under CEO Onur Genc and Chair Carlos Torres thanks to its booming Mexican business and big shareholder payouts. Sabadell has reported a run of rising profits, helped by higher interest rates in Spain, and its share price has increased five-fold since the 2020 merger talks failed. "With this operation, BBVA recovers its leading position by volume of assets in Spain, one of its main markets and one of those that has grown the most in its latest results," said Joaquin Robles, analyst at Spanish broker XTB. It could also be an opportunity for Sabadell, which had recently been linked to a possible takeover of Unicaja, he said. Two sources familiar with the matter said UBS and JP Morgan were advising BBVA. JPMorgan, UBS and BBVA declined to comment.