If you don’t innovate and change you will be dead, that was the message from BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila at the bank’s inaugural fintech focused Open Summit in Madrid today. Speaking to an audience of entrepreneurs, investors, influencers and startups, Torres Vila also said the only true way to keep innovation fresh was to be open to ideas from outside your own business and sector.

Technological advances have revolutionized life at home. With the arrival of new devices, digital habits have changed and users have adapted to the new products on the market. This transformation is evident in the data, which shows that the number of Spanish households that have a television (84.3%) was surpassed by those that have a laptop (84.9%) for the first time, according to the observatory ONTSI, published in La Vanguardia.

People who are knowledgeable about Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are some of the most sought-after employees. According to a study conducted by the portal Ticjob, published by Expansión, the number of this kind of job openings has increased 5% in the third quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

One of the world’s most respected publications, The Economist, has written up an article on BBVA entitled “BBVA, A Spanish Bank, Reinvents itself as a Digital Business’. The focus of the piece is on the steps BBVA is taking to transform itself into the bank of the future, and the reasons for doing this.

BBVA Compass was recognized as a leader in Financial Fitness from Javelin Strategy & Research in its 2017 Online Banking Scorecard, with independent research firm spotlighting the bank for providing a notable online banking experience that guides customers on a financial journey.

Javelin Strategy & Research’s competitive analysis of the nation’s top 28 financial institutions examines more than 225 online banking features in six critical areas of banking success: ease of use, security empowerment, financial fitness, money movement, customer service, and account opening.

The ‘Leader’ in Financial Fitness recognition was given to just 3 financial institutions out of 28 measured that Javelin found to be proactive and vigilant financial advisers that demonstrate that they:

• Have financial oversight and guidance anchored by the ability for customers to conveniently view balances and transactions for all of their accounts in a single view.
• Give consumers alerts that help them stay on top of their finances.
• Serve up personalized content and insights to help them understand and manage their money better.
• Have online banking services that boast the tools and advice that help customers save for specific goals.

BBVA Compass has closed a $5 million equity investment in Pathway Lending, becoming the largest investor in Alabama’s effort to build up small businesses in the state’s Appalachian region. Pathway Lending, a Community Development Financial Institution certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury, will operate the state’s new loan fund for small businesses in the 37 counties of Appalachian Alabama.