banco bilbao vizcaya argentaria sas profit in the third quarter rose as the lender booked lower provisions and said it will proceed with a sharebuyback program after receiving authorization from the european central bank the spanish bank said it will buy back up to 10 of its capital for a maximum sum of eur35 billion the program will run for a maximum of five months from its effective start on nov 18 the lenders net profit increased 23 compared with the same period last year to 14 billion euros 164 billion above analysts consensus expectations of eur108 billion bbva said net interest incomethe difference between what lenders earn from loans and pay for deposits a key profit driver for retail banksfell to eur375 billion in the third quarter compared with eur411 billion the same period a year earlier gross income was down 58 to eur533 billion the lender said impairments on financial assets and provisions dropped to eur622 million in the period from eur928 million in 2020s third quarter