By August 2026, BBVA was working with about 1,060 franchise brands in Spain, a reach the bank puts at roughly eight out of ten in the sector. The borrower is usually the entrepreneur opening the premises, not the franchise chain. They pay the entry fee and put the brand's name above the door.
The financing covers the basic costs of opening a unit: the franchise fee, refurbishment, equipment and working capital for the first months. BBVA's franchise service can support a project from launch through expansion. In restaurant and retail formats, the combined bill can reach six figures, information from sector benchmarks.
El Diario.es and El Correo Gallego reported the figure. El Correo Gallego also made clear that the programme targets franchisees: the entrepreneurs and small businesses opening individual units, not the franchisors themselves.
The €250 million is only part of BBVA's advantage. Its ties to nearly 80% of franchise brands give it a view of which chains are expanding or closing units, and where demand is moving. A standardised network also provides comparable information on suppliers and operating processes, as well as margins per square metre.
That changes the credit decision.
Financing a franchisee differs from lending to an independent entrepreneur without an established model. The franchisor has already screened candidates and provided training, along with operational support during the first years. This can give a lender a more comparable portfolio than a group of businesses operating without a common structure.
The risk does not disappear. A recognised brand cannot turn a poor location into a profitable business, and restaurants and retail account for a large share of closures. The network's strength and support matter, as does the individual unit's cash flow.
The market's size helps explain BBVA's focus. El Mundo reported franchise turnover of €28,454 million in 2025. Supermarkets and food and nutrition stores were among the largest segments. Capital Radio, citing data from the Asociación Española de la Franquicia, reported that the sector generated about €28.5 billion in turnover in 2025, equivalent to approximately 1.68% of national GDP; revenue and employment both increased. Capital Radio and the association also identify food and restaurants, along with related hospitality formats, as impressive parts of the sector. These areas are natural targets for loans to open new locations.
BBVA is competing with Santander, CaixaBank, Sabadell and Bankinter. All four banks have spent years pursuing small and medium-sized businesses. Franchise finance offers a direct route into that relationship: the customer wants more than a loan, and the request usually comes with a business plan tied to a known name.
The loan is just the starting point. A franchisee may also need banking and payment services, along with insurance and payroll services for a small team. That wider package explains why self-employed workers and small companies matter to banks beyond the interest from the original operation.
The strategy also changes the type of security used in small-business credit. Before 2008, property values supported much of that lending. The correction in prices damaged a impressive part of the portfolio. Banks now look more closely at business cash flow. It can change quickly, but gives a direct measure of whether the operation can repay.
At €250 million, the programme remains controlled in relation to BBVA's balance sheet. It gives the bank a visible position in a sector that gathers each year at its core trade fair. Finding franchise brands is no longer the basic task: BBVA already reaches eight out of ten networks. Growth now depends on turning that access into more loans for the people who open the shops.
The headline figure is not proof that the model is safe. BBVA has an information advantage and a route to long-term relationships with small businesses. Each loan still has to work at the level of one premises. The logo on the network matters less than the cash flow of the local business.
