Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA is planning to open a digital consumer bank in Germany, using existing technology to expand at relatively low cost.

The project is led by Javier Lipuzcoa, the head of BBVA’s digital bank in Italy, according to people familiar with the matter. The lender is currently preparing a feasibility study and is putting together a team that would be in charge of the new unit, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

A spokesperson for BBVA declined to comment.

BBVA joins firms such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. in seeking to expand in Europe’s largest economy through digital banking services. A similar push by Spain’s second-largest bank into the Italian market has exceeded initial expectations, with more than 420,000 clients signing on.

Digital banks tend to operate at lower costs than brick-and-mortar ones, but they typically have to win over large numbers of clients to be profitable. A similar consideration by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. several years ago never materialized.

BBVA last year had 40 full-time employees in Germany, out of a total workforce of around 120,000, according to its annual report.

The lender is an investor in Solaris SE, a German fintech that provides white label banking services. Solaris last year headed off a threat by Germany’s banking regulator that would have forced the firm to slash its business over concerns that controls and capital strength weren’t keeping up with growth.

–By Jorge Zuloaga (Bloomberg News)