Banco Hispano Americano (BHA) was a private Spanish bank that operated during most of the 20th century, becoming one of the most important financial institutions in the country. The activities of the Hispano Americano were not limited to the financial sector and it also had a prominent presence in the industrial sector through various investments. It was also linked to foreign trade, operating in numerous countries.

In 1991, Hispano Americano agreed to a merger with Banco Central, which resulted in the creation of Banco Central Hispano (BCH).

It was created by a group of investors brought together by Antonio Basagoiti Arteta, a businessman from Biscay who had made his fortune in Mexico in the textile, leather, agricultural, and railroad sectors. The Zaldo and Ibáñez families were among the group, who had also prospered in the United States. On October 25, 1900, the investment conclave resulted in the foundation of a financial institution with a national vocation. Until then, only the Banco de España had branches throughout Spain, and the founders of the BHA wanted to create a private banking infrastructure with a peninsular scope.

At the end of 1913, BHA suffered a crisis of confidence due to the bank's rumored commercial presence in Mexico, then plagued by political instability. The crisis was resolved with the intervention of the Bank of Spain, which acted for the first time as a lender of last resort. Unlike other institutions, the process consolidated a conservative management policy that prevented excessive involvement during the First World War. As of 1929 and following the appointment of Andrés Moreno García as general manager, management was decentralized.

Throughout its existence, the entity made important investments in the Spanish industrial sector. It was closely associated with the creation in 1928 of the Compañía Arrendataria del Monopolio de Petróleos (CAMPSA), or the company Hidroeléctrica de Cataluña in 1946. In the mid-1950s, the bank played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the acquisition of the Rio Tinto mines from the British Rio Tinto Company Limited and was also part of the consortium that eventually formed the Compañía Española de Minas de Río Tinto to exploit the deposits. Linked to the Sociedad Española de Construcciones Electromecánicas (SECEM), in 1978 the bank provided financial support for the operation that led to the creation of the holding company Ibercobre.

In 1976 the details were finalized for the takeovers of Banco Mercantil e Industrial and Banco de Gijón. In December 1976, a representative office was opened in Tehran, the first to be opened by a Spanish bank, with the aim of channeling commercial activities between Iran and Spain. That same year Banco Hispano Americano and Banco Urquijo created a company aimed at promoting and managing Spanish commercial and industrial operations in Iran, as well as attracting resources from that country. Among the companies participating in the company were Duro Felguera, Entrecanales, and CAF. The expansive strategy followed by the company made it the second-largest Spanish bank in 1977.

The opening of an office in Tehran was not the only case of international expansion, as BHA established offices in cities such as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, London, Lisbon, and Moscow.

In 1984, the Ministry of Economy and Finance awarded Banco del Norte due to the re-privatization of the Rumasa Group banks.