Carlos Torres Vila: “BBVA Will Have €49 Billion in Top-Quality Capital in the New Strategic Cycle”
In an interview on BBVA’s corporate website, the bank’s Chair, Carlos Torres Vila, took stock of 2025, which he described as “a magnificent year, with BBVA in its best moment,” and shared his outlook for 2026. The bank foresees continued growth in all countries and business areas, especially in sustainability and corporate banking, driven by a strategic plan that puts customers clearly at the center. BBVA also reaffirms its ambition to lead banking in the age of artificial intelligence. In this context, the Chair underlined that between 2025 and 2028, BBVA expects to “generate €49 billion in top-quality capital,” which will be used to finance organic growth and shareholder remuneration.
Carlos Torres Vila emphasized that 2025 was a year marked by excellent performance in all markets where it operates, despite a complex global environment, with geopolitical tensions and rising trade fragmentation. First, he pointed to growth in activity in the first nine months of the year – close to 8 percent in Spain, the highest growth in nearly two decades – and around 10 percent in Mexico. He then stressed the addition of nearly 11 million new customers, which strengthens the bank’s future growth, as well as the sustained increase in lending. He also drew attention to several financial metrics: profitability, which was once again around 20 percent; efficiency and value creation for shareholders, which reached notably strong levels.
This performance “is reflected in our share price, which has more than doubled throughout the year, bringing total shareholder return to 124 percent,” including dividends. In this regard, the Chair noted that the bank’s “market capitalization reached a historic record of €115 billion.”
“In addition to our strong performance, 2025 was the year that we began implementing the new strategic plan. A plan that anticipates the trends that will define the future, is highly customer-oriented and will enable BBVA to maintain our leadership in growth and profitability in the future,” he summarized.
Carlos Torres Vila is expecting a cycle of growth for BBVA in all markets, despite the uncertainty in the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. Looking to 2026 specifically, BBVA expects growth to outpace competitors, especially in the more profitable segments, consumer and corporate banking. In Europe, the bank’s digital presence in Italy and Germany will continue to grow at a strong pace. In Mexico, lending will continue to grow more than Gross Domestic Product (GDP), backed by the country’s structural strengths and the low level of access to banking services. He also foresees advances in Türkiye, where the gradual macroeconomic normalization will lead to a greater contribution to the Group’s earnings, and in South America, a region with positive growth prospects for the banking sector.
In this context, BBVA points to two main drivers of growth: sustainable finance and the enterprise segment. “The investment cycle in sustainability is unstoppable,” the Chair emphasized, with a target of €700 billion in sustainable finance from 2025 to 2029. BBVA is also predicting sharp growth in its enterprise banking activity thanks to its comprehensive offering and specialized advisory services, with a focus on investment banking in particular, “where we are seeing significant growth.”
Capital and value creation is another strategic priority in BBVA’s new strategic cycle. The bank expects to generate €49 billion in top-quality (CET1) capital between 2025 and 2028, including the excess capital at the start of the period. Of this amount, the bank plans to use €13 billion to finance organic growth in its main markets and €36 billion for shareholder remuneration. “We are firmly committed to returning all excess capital above 12 percent to our shareholders in a disciplined manner,” said Carlos Torres Vila. BBVA’s capital target range stands at 11.5-12 percent.
In 2025, BBVA significantly accelerated shareholder remuneration, including a €1.8 billion interim dividend (€0.32 per share – the highest ever), a share buyback of nearly €1 billion as part of ordinary shareholder remuneration, and the launch of a new extraordinary share buyback program totaling around €4 billion, with the first €1.5 billion tranche currently underway.
Artificial intelligence to build the bank of the future and a strategy radically focused on customers
BBVA is moving forward with determination to lead banking in the age of artificial intelligence, just as it led the digital transformation in the past. “Artificial intelligence is a reality that is changing how we make decisions, how we work, how we live,” said Carlos Torres Vila. For this reason, BBVA has developed a roadmap with eight initiatives that connect the entire organization. They include Blue, a 24/7 personalized assistant for each of our customers; AI banker, which supports all our bankers in their daily work; AI solutions for risk management, operational processes and software development; and Alter Ego, an assistant to support every employee in their daily work. At the end of 2025, BBVA signed a strategic partnership with OpenAI, which is accelerating the execution of these solutions, with the aim of improving our offering through a more personalized, proactive and efficient experience. “The goal is to free up time for what really matters: being there for our customers and offering them better service,” the bank Chair stressed.
In an increasingly competitive environment marked by the emergence of new actors, BBVA aims to distinguish itself through empathy and personalization. “The key is to adopt a radical client perspective,” he said. This aim is reflected in the bank’s purpose: to ‘support your drive to go further,’ with the goal of offering everyone “excellence in every interaction” and a highly personalized offering, capable of anticipating their needs. “We want to go from thinking about customers to thinking like each customer,” he added. This vision, rooted in strategic use of technology, establishes BBVA as a bank that innovates “to improve people’s lives.”
In his final thoughts, Carlos Torres Vila summarized 2025 as “a great start to our strategic plan focused on customers.” In 2026, BBVA plans to continue moving forward with a committed team, a clear purpose and a business model combining innovation, sustainability and a people-centered vision. “We will continue making great strides, innovating and improving people’s lives,” he concluded.