Artificial intelligence could increase South America’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth by at least one percentage point annually by 2035, according to Accenture Research’s report How artificial intelligence can accelerate South America’s growth. The report calls attention to this technology’s potential to transform the region’s labor market and create a new relationship between humans and computers.

Carlos Torres Vila, CEO of BBVA, took part in the Encuentro Bancario Iberoamericano, (Ibero-American Bank Meeting) held today in Madrid. Asked how technology is conditioning the future of banking institutions, he said that “technology and globalization are affecting the banking business in a critical manner,” but that they also “allow us to do things more quickly and improve the experience of our customers.”

During an informal conversation with Financial Times journalist Laura Noonan, Francisco González noted that these days everybody is talking about digital change, but "we have been working on it for years."  Transforming the bank "is not just a matter of platforms. The big challenge is changing an incumbent into a new digital company." Francisco González made these remarks during his participation in the closing of MoneyConf 2017, one of the top events in the European fintech calendar, held this year in Madrid.

Some 76% of Spaniards are willing to use mobile banking while on vacation – an increase of 166% from those who used it last year, according to a Ferratum report on fintech startups published today.

Europa Press reports that smart factories’ productivity could increase up to 27% over the next five years thanks to investments in digitization - the equivalent of a $500 billion (444.75 billion euros) contribution to the global economy, according to the Capgemini study Smart Factories.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) have agreed to provide BBVA with a €143 million mezzanine guarantee facility to support investment projects for Spanish SMEs. The operation will allow BBVA to offer up to €1 billion in SME funding. The agreement, which has secured backing from the Investment Plan for Europe (also known as the ‘Junker Plan’) was signed today in Madrid by EIB Vice-President Román Escolano and BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila.