Note 38 - Insurance and reinsurance contracts income and expenses - Other operating income and expenses on insurance and reinsurance contracts (Details) - EUR (€) € in Millions	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Insurance and Reinsurance Contracts Income and Expenses
Income on insurance and reinsurance contracts (Income Statement)	€ 1,609	€ 1,863
Expenses on insurance and reinsurance contracts (Income Statement)	(1,093)	(1,295)
Total Net Income Arising from Insurance and Reinsurance Contracts	€ 516	€ 568

No definition available.

Name:	bbva_Insuranceandreinsurancecontractsincomeandexpensesabstract
Namespace Prefix:	bbva_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The net income or expenses associated to insurance contracts.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	bbva_Netincomearisingfrominsurancecontracts
Namespace Prefix:	bbva_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The amount of expense arising from insurance contracts. [Refer: Types of insurance contracts [member]]

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Name IFRS
-Number 4
-IssueDate 2017-01-01
-Paragraph 37
-Subparagraph b
-URI http://eifrs.ifrs.org/eifrs/XBRL?type=IFRS&num=4&date=2017-03-01&anchor=para_37_b&doctype=Standard
-URIDate 2017-03-09

+ Details

Name:	ifrs-full_ExpenseArisingFromInsuranceContracts
Namespace Prefix:	ifrs-full_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The amount of income arising from insurance contracts. [Refer: Types of insurance contracts [member]]

+ References

+ Details

Name:	ifrs-full_IncomeArisingFromInsuranceContracts
Namespace Prefix:	ifrs-full_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration