It operates in the autonomous communities of Galicia, Asturias and the province of León, in other parts of Spain and in Portugal, as well as offices in the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Brazil, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and the USA.

This formation was a response to the stipulations of Royal Decree Law 2/2011, which necessitated the creation of a banking entity to manage the operations previously handled by NovaCaixaGalicia.

On September 14, 2011, NCG Banco, S.A. was established, with José María Castellano appointed as the executive chairman and César González-Bueno Mayer as the CEO.

As part of this process, NCG Banco received €2,465 million in capital from the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB).

Consequently, without its banking business, NovaCaixaGalicia's role was reduced to financially supporting its social work through the revenues derived from its ownership stake in NCG Banco.

Subsequently, on November 14, it was announced that the bank would operate under two distinct brands and business models: Novagalicia Banco serving Galicia, Asturias, Castilla y León, and international markets, and NGB covering the rest of Spain.

On July 12, 2012, the bank launched a media campaign featuring personal apologies from its Executive Chairman and CEO to its customers.

[10] On December 27, 2012, FROB injected €5,425 million of aid from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into the bank, assuming full control of the entity.

The plan also included discontinuing credit lines associated with real estate developments and reducing its activities in the wholesale market.

[14] On July 19, 2013, the Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGD) acquired a 25.57% stake in NCG Banco following a disbursement of €801.7 million, aimed at providing liquidity to the bank's preference shareholders and subordinated debt holders.

On 11 November 2013, the Spanish government bailout program Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB) began the privatization process of Novagalicia Banco.

[25] On June 20, 2014, the European Commission approved the sale of NCG Banco along with the proposed amendments to its restructuring plan.

[26] The sale was finalised on 25 June 2014 when Banesco, Banco Etcheverría's parent company, made an initial payment of €403 million.

On May 2, 2017, Abanca announced an agreement to acquire 100% of Popular Servicios Financieros, previously the consumer finance division of Banco Pastor, for €39 million.

[32] On May 4, 2018, Eduardo Eraña Guerra assumed the interim chairmanship of the entity while Juan Carlos Escotet, the principal owner, attended to the affairs of Banesco in Venezuela, which was undergoing intervention by the Venezuelan government.

[34] On February 22, 2019, Abanca announced a conditional takeover bid of €1.7 billion for Liberbank, stipulating that it be granted access to the bank's accounts before March 1.

[35] However, the bid was withdrawn after the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) prohibited the conditional nature of the offer and due to insufficient support from Liberbank's shareholders.

Following the merger, Abanca gained an additional €7 billion in business from over 131,000 customers, as well as 110 new branches and more than 500 employees, particularly enhancing its presence in the provinces near the Portuguese border.

[48] The purchase was finalized on November 30, 2021, and the transition to the Abanca branding began, with technological integration anticipated to occur in the last quarter of 2022.

These measures included offering individualized attention to elderly customers through personal managers, extending branch opening hours to 14:00, and a strong commitment to maintaining operations in the 134 municipalities where it is the sole financial institution.

[50] On December 22, 2022, Abanca announced the initiation of exclusive negotiations[51] with Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (BFCM) for the acquisition of TARGOBANK España.