Pedro Luis Uriarte, Chief executive, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya

Pedro Luis Uriarte is not a man to mince his words. When asked at a recent meeting with analysts in London what he saw as the way forward for Spanish banking in the context of a single-currency Europe, the 55-year-old chief executive of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (BBV), the country’s biggest bank, casually said he thought it would be a good idea to merge with arch-rival Banco Santander.

Uriarte’s remark hit the roomful of analysts like a bombshell, and needless to say, Banco Santander was not amused.