There is a staggering $2.5 trillion global trade finance gap that mainly affects SMEs in emerging countries, limiting their ability to access new business opportunities. Helping businesses to bridge this finance gap, supply chain fintech Twinco Capital is today announcing it has secured an additional €50 million facility with BBVA Spark to accelerate growth.

BBVA has announced the creation of BBVA Technology, a new company that is to gather the experience and talent of the Group's three tech firms: BBVA Next Technologies, BBVA IT España, and Datio. The new company will have a more strategic focus while offering more career development opportunities for the bank’s tech teams.

Although the most recent Gender Equality Report presented at the World Economic Forum recorded that Colombia has closed the gender equality gap by 75.1 percent, it is still a challenge to reach the figures of countries such as Iceland, which ranks first with 91.2 percent.

Iberpay, Swift, BBVA and several international banks have successfully completed the first pilot to process, in a real environment, instant payments between different currency areas. Their ultimate goal is to improve these international payments involving currency exchange in terms of speed, transparency, cost, availability and accessibility.

With an end-to-end vision firmly focused on prevention and customer protection, BBVA launches a new unit to further strengthen the bank’s financial crime prevention structure. Technology, advanced analytical models and artificial intelligence will be decisive in ensuring the proactive protection of customers, the bank itself and society, and are what underpin this cutting-edge unit within the Spanish banking industry.

BBVA has announced the roll-out of its BBVA Spark business unit in Colombia. The new unit will offer an end-to-end financial services proposition aimed at entrepreneurs and tech companies at different stages of development. This includes a full range of banking products and services, specialized support and access to the tech industry ecosystem.

BBVA is to donate €31.89 million for the people affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye. BBVA has also launched a series of campaigns to collect contributions from employees and customers.

Colombia has just launched an international bond issue in dollars with the aim of advancing financing for 2023 and improving the country's public debt profile. BBVA was one of the entities participating in the placement, which matures in 2034.

The Global Head of Sustainability at BBVA, Javier Rodríguez Soler, said that we are seeing a growing interest in carbon markets, which "will play a critical role in the energy transition." In an online panel organized by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in the framework of the COP27 held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Javier Rodríguez Soler acknowledged that "there is increasing pressure to buy quality carbon credits."

The latest figures from the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF)’s Research team estimate that extreme poverty in Latin America has increased in the last few years because of the pandemic and recently, as a result of the war in Ukraine and the state of the global economy, among other reasons. To such an extent that currently, of every 100 poor people, 42 are in extreme poverty, that is, they cannot cover their basic needs, including food.

BBVA invests 10 million euros in the world's largest clean hydrogen infrastructure fund financing the whole hydrogen value chain scale up. This is a strategic investment for BBVA, as hydrogen is shaping up to be a possible solution to decarbonize the most emission-intensive sectors of the economy.

BBVA is committed to clean energy and will support the energy industry in its transition. The bank has therefore announced it will reduce emissions from its oil and gas portfolio by 30% by 2030. This commitment is in addition to the bank's 2021 targets  in four other carbon-intensive sectors and the decision to stop financing coal companies, in line with the zero net emissions banking alliance (NZBA).

BBVA's decarbonization targets: What do they mean and what is their scope?

In a presentation sent to the CNMV on the occasion of an event with investors this Wednesday, BBVA highlights the bank's track record in creating value for shareholders and its competitive edge, focused on profitable growth. This enables BBVA to present a positive outlook with recent improvements in its forecasts for loan growth and net interest income in markets like Spain and Mexico. The document that BBVA CEO Onur Genç will present at the conference organized by Bank of America emphasizes that “BBVA is an engine of profitable growth.”

Students, teachers, doctors and researchers; micro-entrepreneurs, farmers and small business owners; artists and NGO volunteers... Millions of people around the world are benefitting from BBVA's social initiatives to build a better world for themselves and those around them. Their stories will be featured in the ‘Creating Opportunities Together’ initiative, a project through which the bank plans to raise awareness and recognize an effort that frequently goes unnoticed.

BBVA has recently appointed Pierre Goffin the bank's new Country Manager for France. Pierre has more than 25 years' experience in corporate and investment banking and will oversee business in this market. His main objective will be to strengthen relations with large corporations and the leading institutional and investor community in France.

BBVA is the winner in four categories of the 2022 Euromoney Awards for Excellence. The bank is 'Western Europe’s Best Digital Bank,’ 'Latin America’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility,’ 'Mexico’s Best Bank' and 'Mexico’s Best Investment Bank.'

BBVA takes another step toward gender equality, setting a target for 35 percent of its management positions to be held by women by 2024. At the end of last year, this figure stood at 31.4 percent. This measure adds to a series of initiatives that are contributing to increasing the number of women in positions of responsibility.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has just published the Private Philanthropy for Development statistics detailing the contribution of the 40 largest foundations in the world. For the third consecutive year, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) is the second worldwide and the first in Latin America.

BBVA adheres to a statement signed by 49 companies around the world to support people fleeing Ukraine and address their immediate needs. The companies involved include Adidas, Amazon, Deloitte, FedEx, L'Oréal, Pfizer, Unilever and Virgin. The initiative is part of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a global non-profit. BBVA made  a donation of 1 million euros to improve the living conditions of refugees.

For the fifth time in the past six years, Garanti BBVA was named Turkey's Best Investment Bank by Global Finance, one of the world's leading financial magazines. The award confirms the bank’s expertise and reliability in international energy projects and major investments.

BBVA has launched a donation campaign amongst its customers and employees in Spain, aimed at aiding in the humanitarian crisis that Ukraine is suffering. Moreover, BBVA will enable free transfers from individuals to Ukraine from March 7.

BBVA is to donate €1 million, to be split 50/50 between UNICEF and UNHCR, to respond to the humanitarian emergency in Ukraine. This step is in addition to the donation campaign launched by the bank among its employees and customers, which has raised more than €200,000 so far.

BBVA will hold its Investor Day on Thursday, November 18th. The event will allow investors to learn firsthand about  the details and objectives of the bank’s strategy.

The Latin American Federation of Banks (Felaban) organized its 2nd regulatory meeting in Madrid. The employers' association, which gathers the main banking associations in the region, participated in a working meeting with BBVA executives where they analyzed the outlook for Latin America post-pandemic.

The pandemic has been one of the greatest health crises in recorded history. Thanks to rapid advances in science and technology, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer. Major vaccination efforts are currently underway to immunize the world's population. According to data from health authorities compiled by Our World in Data, 39.7% of the world's population has received at least one dose, while, as of today, almost 2.1 billion people across the globe are fully vaccinated.

In 2020, BBVA allocated €79.1 million (55.6 percent of its total investment in social programs) to initiatives in support of education, knowledge and culture, benefiting 5.6 million people. In addition, over 2.2 million users accessed the content on education, science, culture and economics, which was provided by the bank through the digital platforms for its initiatives and programs. The BBVA Foundation and its activities also benefited 3.5 million people.

The BBVA Group earned €1.21 billion in 1Q21, in line with quarterly earnings prior to the pandemic. In the year ago period, BBVA posted a €1.79 billion loss when it recorded a goodwill adjustment in its U.S. subsidiary and higher impairments. This quarter’s result was driven by strong recurring revenue and lower impairments and provisions than in 1Q20. Thanks to these earnings, BBVA generated 15 basis points of capital in the January-March period.