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Productivity Updated: 29 May 2020

BBVA USA 5-Year Strategic Plan – Pillar No. 4: Operational Excellence

Operational excellence provides the foundation upon which the hallmarks of superior performance are built. This is true for companies of all sizes in all industries, and BBVA USA is no exception.

While operational excellence -- the consistent, effective execution of strategy -- is considered table stakes for most organizations in a competitive environment, BBVA has elevated its importance by making it a key component of the bank’s 5-year strategic plan.

Rodríguez Soler: "For us, it is a critical part of helping customers get the best possible service in the most efficient and fastest way possible..."

“Operational excellence is about creating a culture that allows us to deliver valuable products and services and achieve long-term sustainable growth,” said BBVA USA President and CEO Javier Rodríguez Soler. “For us, it is a critical part of helping customers get the best possible service in the most efficient and fastest way possible, with proper risk management, governance, control, process and capital allocation.”

The concept of operational excellence is typically considered more of a mindset, embracing certain principles and tools to create sustainable improvement. However, BBVA has established tangible benchmarks as part of its five-year strategic plan to ensure measurable progress is achieved.

A key first step is improving the bank’s capacity to execute projects consistently and routinely. BBVA plans to tighten its focus, limiting the number of active projects to ensure older projects are completed before new ones are initiated. Ongoing oversight will further ensure that work is prioritized to complete the most critical projects first.

Rodríguez Soler: "By improving our process efficiency, we’ll see greater strides toward productive growth."

Rodríguez Soler says bolstering the bank’s governance and capabilities in processes will further improve execution. “We want to continue to advance our organizational efficiency across the board,” said Rodríguez Soler. “By improving our process efficiency, we’ll see greater strides toward productive growth.”

BBVA USA President and CEO Javier Rodríguez Soler - Nathan Lindstrom Photography

He indicates that this growth will require organizational discipline, leveraging best practices and streamlining key labor intensive processes. The bank will also continue to support  the increase in retail sales by boosting branch performance, working toward modernizing its contact center, and supporting the growth of commercial and residential lending.

To further enhance BBVA’s operational excellence, there is a strong focus on ensuring the ongoing management of regulatory priorities. This includes continuing efforts to enhance data security and remain ahead of the curve in shifting from LIBOR to SOFR as the industry standard for loan indices, as well as sustained efforts to enhance consumer compliance, capital planning, liquidity management and risk assessment methodologies.

Rodríguez Soler: "This focus will provide the foundation upon which we will establish BBVA as the best bank in the best region."

“By making operational excellence a key piece of our strategic plan, we are committing ourselves as an organization to this philosophy as a way of working together, embracing problem-solving and leadership as keys to continuous improvement,” said Rodríguez Soler. “This focus will provide the foundation upon which we will establish BBVA as the best bank in the best region.”


To read more about BBVA USA’s new 5-year strategic plan, and the six global pillars that are guiding it, click here. Click below to read about a specific pillar of the bank’s strategic plan:

Pillar 1: Financial health

Pillar 2: Sustainability

Pillar 3: Reaching more customers

Please continue to visit BBVA.com for more stories describing each of the strategic pillars in BBVA USA 5-Year Strategic Plan.