Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has bowed to pressure from the Bolivian socialist government to surrender shares it holds in oil companies through its pension fund, AFP Pension.

The Bolivian government, headed by the newly-elected Evo Morales, set a deadline on Monday of 72 hours for BBVA and the Swiss insurer Zurich to surrender their holdings of energy companies. The country is seeking to nationalise its hydrocarbon sector.