According to the financial app, banco bilbao vizcaya argentaria (BBVA.US) announced the highest mid-term dividend in history to seek investor support for its plan to acquire a smaller Spanish competitor.

According to a document submitted to regulators on Thursday, the second largest bank in Spain will pay a cash dividend of 0.29 euros (0.32 dollars) per share next month. Although the mid-term dividend payment is part of its previously announced dividend plan, the amount paid is nearly one-third higher than the expected 0.22 euros per share.

Since April of this year, BBVA has been dedicated to acquiring Banco Sabadell SA. The acquisition is undergoing regulatory and antitrust reviews. However, Banco Sabadell SA considers it a hostile takeover and faces government opposition. The government is concerned about high market concentration, but its power to block the acquisition is limited.

Banco Sabadell SA argues that as an independent bank, it has strong growth prospects and can provide generous returns to shareholders. The bank's managers are using their investor return policy as one of the weapons to reject BBVA's acquisition offer. Banco Sabadell SA announced in July that it will pay shareholders 2.9 billion euros (3.23 billion dollars) this year and next year, higher than the previously promised 2.4 billion euros.

BBVA has also pledged to provide higher returns to partly counter this claim. Onur Genc, the CEO of the group, stated at a meeting with Bank of America on Wednesday that if Banco Sabadell SA shareholders accept their acquisition offer, they will receive 'more dividends and more cash flow.'