In 2020, BBVA took a step forward to protect its employees and support its customers and society as a whole, to cope with the COVID-19 crisis. In a year marked by the virus, the bank has launched initiatives across the world to alleviate the financial burden of those worst hit by the pandemic and provide funding for the economic recovery.

This award recognizes BBVA Next Technologies’ commitment using technology to face COVID-19 crisis.

BBVA’s chairman participated this Tuesday in the first edition of the Expansión International Economic Forum, organized by the financial newspaper Expansión and the international forum, the European House-Ambrosetti, in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid.  “Public-private collaboration can leverage private initiatives to make investment decisions and generate prosperity,” said Carlos Torres Vila. In this regard, he feels that “the work of the public sector is to attract private investment with appropriate incentive schemes that manage to multiply European funds,” and in this process, “banks can play a key role” to channel the funds, analyze the projects being financed and strengthen their effect on the economy with their financing.

In the last part of the BBVA USA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness Series, final tips and advice are given, based on the frequently asked questions submitted from actual small business owners who received a PPP loan. Questions were submitted as part of the BBVA USA Forgiveness Webinar, developed to walk small businesses through the forgiveness process.

Parts 1 and 2 of the BBVA USA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness Series detailed two key pieces of the entire process: The lender’s responsibilities and the borrower’s responsibilities. The details of these topics can be found in the main source of the Forgiveness Series: the BBVA USA Forgiveness Webinar, a comprehensive look into the PPP that untangles frequent questions. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked a global disruption that has severely impacted the world’s health, as well as a multitude of aspects of economic and social life. Since the beginning, the scientific community has embarked on the complex, multidisciplinary challenge of looking for solutions to the various areas that have been affected.

In an interview with ‘La Linterna’ de COPE, BBVA’s Group Executive Chairman said that the EU funds to face the health crisis represent “a great opportunity”. In his opinion, if invested “productively in long-term growth and combined in combination with structural reforms”, they can help tackle key problems of the Spanish economy, such as structural unemployment. “We also need to invest in education, focusing on the world of the future: the digital world, the world of data and addressing the transition to a more sustainable world, socially and environmentally.”

Last week, the BBVA USA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness Series detailed  the PPP lender’s responsibilities, which can be found here. The second part of the bank’s PPP forgiveness webinar provided an overview of the borrower’s responsibilities and this article highlights some of the borrower’s responsibilities.

Building on its current “Your Bank for…” marketing campaign, BBVA has produced two new animated videos in response to the pandemic-related challenges small businesses are currently facing.

When the PPP launched earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty painted the quickly-changing small business landscape. That uncertainty still lingers now that the program’s narrative has shifted to the forgiveness phase.

BBVA USA recently released a BBVA PPP Loan Forgiveness Webinar to help small business owners prepare for the forgiveness phase of the small business relief component of the CARES Act. 

The British Safety Council (BSC), one of the leading organizations in promoting occupational health and safety, has recognized BBVA’s Turkish unit for the occupational safety measures rolled out at its Pendik HQs, near Istanbul.

BBVA Executive Chairman Carlos Torres Vila has described the European recovery plan (Next Generation EU) as “a landmark opportunity for Spain.” He asserted that “if the aid is complemented by appropriate reforms, Spain could put an end to its elevated structural unemployment, which has hovered above 16 percent over the last four decades, while laying the foundations of an economy based on green and digital growth, a data-driven economy.”

The coronavirus crisis has proven to be a catalyst for workplace flexibility. Companies around the world urgently accelerated their digitization processes in order to first cope with the lockdown measures established in the early days of the pandemic, and going forward to design a new approach to the world of work. If technology served as the primary ally during the initial phase of this transformation, work-life balance is now positioned as the most significant challenge to overcome. BBVA is already preparing for this new reality, evolving its flexible work model, which it implemented two years ago, to cater to the new reality. The bank is responding to important challenges like the use of physical space, goal setting, the new profile of leadership, and employee empowerment and engagement.

In what has been a steady flow of awards from Greenwich Associates, BBVA USA was recently recognized by the financial industry research firm for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In BBVA USA’s announcement regarding the opening of 15 new branches across Texas, the bank showed its commitment to weaving its groundbreaking digital capabilities into traditional face-to-face interactions, a concept that continues to be relevant in today’s banking industry.

As companies across the globe struggle to find a balance between protecting the health and safety of employees and maintaining an efficient and effective workforce, BBVA is using its highly visible leadership team to meet that challenge with frequent transparent updates.

BBVA’s chief executive officer presented the media with 2020’s second quarter results. Onur Genç expects the bank to “certainly beat our capital target by the end of the year,” given that in June the bank had already hit the high end of its target range. He therefore believes that “in 2021, we will return to paying dividends,” as per recommendations the supervisory authority may make.

BBVA has granted CAF Development Bank of Latin America a $200 million loan that will finance CAF’s assistance programs designed to address the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America. The negotiation and documentation of the loan were fast tracked in order to expedite support for the region.

Many institutions and world players have spearheaded initiatives that are pursuing a common goal: to emerge from the coronavirus crisis with a sustainable and green recovery. Manifestos, letters, commitments, institutional statements, and calls to action have proliferated as the impacts of the crisis have worsened. Many of these initiatives are supported by the European Union; its leaders have approved a historic agreement to address the deep recession caused by COVID-19. It’s the era of green partnerships, and BBVA is an active participant.

Many families are struggling under the economic impact of the pandemic, especially those affected by joblessness. Financial vulnerability refers to the ability of individuals or households to cope with a ‘shock’ that entails the loss of their main source of income.

The uncertainty triggered by COVID-19 has led to a rise in cyberattacks against individuals in Spain. BBVA has therefore hosted several webinars in recent months to offer practical advice to customers and non-customers and thus alert the general public to the risk of fraud on the Internet. During these online events, involving members of the BBVA Cybersecurity team, including Roberto Ortiz, Global Head of Security Culture and Training at BBVA (People Information Security), speakers addressed the need to educate, inform and raise awareness of cyber attacks to protect the identity and finances of network users.

The BBVA Research team has published two reports: its U.S. Regional Outlook for July, highlighting key factors impacting regional economies, along with its economic analysis of the U.S. employment report. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact job growth and other economic indicators.

BBVA USA announced today that it has begun the process of reopening its branch lobbies, originally closed in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and BBVA are set to join forces to support Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps affected by the COVID-19 crisis, signing two agreements to provide total financing of €1.42 billion.

In June, BBVA’s Group executive chairman held a round of meetings with the bank’s teams in Spain, Mexico, the U.S. and Turkey. At the meetings he went over the situation in each country and shared future challenges. “The pandemic will serve to accelerate our strategic priorities – digitization, data and sustainability – as well as the search for new ways of working,” he explained.

BBVA’s digital development strategy of the past several years is now strongly supporting the digital management of customers’ finances. The implementation of agile work methodologies, DevOps practices—coordination across different teams throughout software development—and a global perspective were key for digital solutions to provide value and become scalable among business units and countries. Thanks to BBVA’s commitment to technology and new ways of working, the bank was able to guarantee service quality, adapt its way of working—with 90% of employees working from home—and, at the same time, enhance its response capacity.

Olga Gouveia, lead economist for Financial Systems at BBVA Research, wrote an op ed piece for the Spanish daily paper, Expansión, where she gave a positive appraisal of the European Central Bank liquidity auctions. The ECB auctions aim to increase lending in order to address the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.

BBVA’s executive chairman joined CEO Onur Genç at the bank’s headquarters in Madrid to participate in an employee meeting where they reviewed lessons learned from the crisis and how the bank’s strategic priorities have proven their resilience in the face of the recent challenge. Carlos Torres Vila believes that, in the current context, BBVA’s purpose, strategy and values “are more relevant than ever.” Together with Ricardo Forcano, global head of Engineering and Organization, and Carlos Casas, head of Talent & Culture shared further details about the bank’s plans for Spain and Turkey where the pandemic statistics favor a return to the workplace.

BBVA’s Group executive chairman underscored the urgency of reactivating the economy to prevent damage that could be irreversible – something we should do standing “united and with consensus.” At an event organized by the Spanish Federation of Businesses (CEOE), Carlos Torres Vila indicated that “private investment is crucial to a digital, data-based, social and sustainable future.”

Ebru Dildar Edin, Executive Vice President of Corporate and Investment Banking at Garanti BBVA participated in the seminar ‘The Changing Future of Work,’ where she emphasized the role sustainability will play in establishing a new, improved normal.

According to last week’s data on credit and debit card spending, consumption has recovered in regions where pandemic restrictions have been lifted. This improvement is observed in the U.S., Turkey and Spain, and in recent days in Latin America. In Spain, increased spending has been seen in those regions that first moved into phase two of the country’s reopening. BBVA Research points out that there was also an increase in ATM cash withdrawals.

BBVA has now earmarked the €35 million donation it committed to support COVID-19 relief. The lion’s share of the funds (81 percent) were allocated to defend against the virus’ initial hit in medical centers and hospitals.

When the PPP launched, its aim was to help small businesses avoid laying off employees while their operations were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. That aim may be taking effect.

BBVA is the only Spanish bank to have signed a declaration calling for the need to include investing in renewable energy in the economic reconstruction plan proposed by the European Commission. It is one of the private sector’s latest calls to action to governments that are “committed to a green recovery, once the worst of the COVID-19 crisis is over.”

Francisco Herrera, Computer Science Professor at the University of Granada, is leading research that aims to diagnose COVID-19 in less than a second using chest x-rays. The project, which is in advanced stages, uses artificial intelligence as a tool to interpret biomedical images more effectively than the human brain. This technique would greatly help health clinics that do not have sophisticated diagnostic imaging systems.

How does BBVA manage the evolution of the pandemic across its footprint? After monitoring the news report began emerging earlier this year about a new virus, on March 9, the bank’s Corporate Continuity Committee decided to create a global war room, led by Ricardo Forcano and Carlos Casas, the heads of Engineering & Organization and Talent & Culture, respectively. War room is a military term that is increasingly used in the business world to describe a group of people who are totally dedicated to tackling a crisis, to make timely and agile decisions.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the financial industry and consumers have been well-chronicled in traditional and social media alike. Banking may never be the same moving forward, in many different ways. That could also include an expedited disappearance of cash, a mode of payment that was already on the decline. 

Compulsory quarantine due to COVID-19 has led to increased use of digital channels, especially mobile banking services, as can be seen in the BBVA franchises in South America.

The relaxation of pandemic restrictions has given consumption a boost in those Spanish regions that first moved into phase two of the country’s reopening. BBVA Research’s weekly analysis measuring debit and credit card spend reveals that for regions remaining in phase one, previous consumption improvements (coming out of the transition from phase zero to one) stalled, with declines last week of May standing firmly at between 10 and 15 percent.

During the coronavirus crisis, digital functionality has been critical for keeping the financial system up-and-running and facilitating quality customer care under extraordinary circumstances, even while the pandemic dictated minimal physical contact. This represents a sign of success for the sector’s digitization efforts and should also serve to make further regulatory progress.  So concluded a virtual meeting dedicated to Europe’s future digital finance strategy, ‘Digital Finance Outreach,’ organized by the European Commission in collaboration with Spain’s Treasury Department.

BBVA’s Turkish unit is on the frontlines in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Emergency field hospitals in Sancaktepe and at the Atatürk airport have received locally manufactured medical equipment.

When the Paycheck Protection Program launched in early-April, BBVA USA employees knew there was going to be an influx of applications for small businesses struggling during the ongoing pandemic.

Ricardo Forcano, the Global Head of Engineering and Organization at BBVA, participated in a digital meeting organized by the Association for Managerial Progress (APD) entitled ‘Innovation and culture for organizational growth’.  During the event, the director explained how the current situation can serve as an impetus to redesign work methods in organizations. He also explained that BBVA is using collective intelligence and data to face the current crisis.