"Contrary to a Spanish front page news report today, ECB Banking Supervision has not yet discussed any future business plans with BBVA," an ECB spokesperson said in an email.

"The report is purely speculative as to potential supervisory actions," the spokesperson added.

Expansion newspaper reported on Thursday that the European supervisor had flagged risks about BBVA's potential plans to grow its business further in Mexico and Turkey, asking the lender to set up a contingency plan.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt and Jesús Aguado in Madrid; editing by Ingrid Melander)