BBVA was placed under investigation in July 2019 for allegedly hiring a private investigation agency run by former police commissioner Jose Manuel Villarejo to spy on politicians, journalists and business figures.
Francisco Gonzalez, 81, was chairman of BBVA from 2000 to 2018, when the bank is said to have engaged the agency.
Spain’s National Court, which handles major financial cases, ruled there was sufficient evidence for BBVA and 15 other defendants, including Gonzalez, to stand trial.
The bank will stand trial for bribery and unlawful discovery and disclosure of secrets.
Gonzalez will be tried for alleged offences of bribery, disclosure of secrets, membership of a criminal organisation, mismanagement and falsification of documents.
Several former BBVA executives will stand trial alongside him for the same crimes, the court said.
BBVA has said it used the services in the past of a business intelligence group linked to Villarejo called Cenyt.
Cenyt is suspected of having done dirty work, such as blackmail or threats, on behalf of companies or rich individuals for decades.
Villarejo was sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2023 after a court found him guilty in a separate case of secretly recording hundreds of public figures and orchestrating campaigns to discredit them on behalf of prominent clients.
His recordings have embarrassed former King Juan Carlos I, as well as several politicians and former ministers.