The Brexit (the term coined to refer to an eventual departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union) was the main topic discussed during the last European Council, which took place during February 18th and 19th. After two days of negotiations, an agreement was concluded that, in general terms, meets the UK’s demands.

José Manuel González-Páramo, executive director of BBVA, has taken part in the Business and Public Assets conference organized by the Business and Humanism Institute of the University of Navarre at BBVA’s headquarters in Madrid. In his speech, González-Páramo has focused on ethics as a fundamental pillar of banking.

It wasn’t long ago that Jean-Claude Juncker said that politicians all knew what measures were needed to resolve Europe’s problems, but no one knew how to get re-elected after applying them. Now the situation is more complicated. Europe is facing new problems, and it is no longer what needs to be done to address them.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) just released a new stress test for banks in the region, something it hasn’t done since 2014.  That’s why it published a detailed description  of the methodology and macroeconomic scenarios in which the institutions have to estimate the potential repercussions on their ability to generate profit and capital.

US and EU representatives agreed to extend the current round of talks regarding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), started on February 22nd, two additional weeks. Both parties were clear about their satisfaction regarding the ground covered over the past days, and ratified their commitment to conclude an agreement in 2016.

Market downfalls at the beginning of the year have put investors on guard. The sharp decline in oil prices and questions over the Chinese economy leave their mark on the global economic outlook. BBVA Asset Management expects to see moderate growth in the global economy in 2016 but suggests caution when building portfolios due to increased risk. Diversification and hedging are necessary.

BBVA signed a strategic alliance with Cisco today that will help the company in its digital transformation process, allowing Cisco to become its priority technology partner. The agreement seeks to foster connectivity and collaboration between BBVA Group clients and employees and provide networking solutions. This is the first of a series of alliances that BBVA is aiming to forge with strategic partners. BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins have taken part in the signing of the agreement.

Australian economist Martin Ravallion has been distinguished with the BBVA Foundation’s Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Development Cooperation for revolutionizing the fight against poverty by creating reliable indicators to measure it. In 1991 he established at one dollar a day the minimum amount that a person needs to survive, which helped establish for the first time specific goals to eliminate extreme poverty globally. After the latest update, the international poverty line is set at US$1.90 a day.

In spring 2016, the BBVA Expedition led by Carlos Soria will help the seasoned climber to take on one of the most ambitious challenges in his career: the “double goal” of crowning the summits of the Annapurna and the Dhaulagiri.

Latin America’s economy, taken as a whole, is set to contract 0.9% in 2016, dragged by Brazil’s recession. According to BBVA Research’s Latin America Situation report corresponding to the first quarter of 2016, the region’s economy is expected to start gaining momentum in 2017, with a growth rate of 1.9%.