Dear team:

I am writing to you in relation to the recent pieces of news that are affecting us so much. Everyone at BBVA is shocked by the information reported which started on January 9. These pieces of news link BBVA to the monitoring or intervention of private communications. If true, it would be undoubtedly extremely serious, deplorable behavior, radically opposed to what we are and what we stand for, and, ultimately, to the values ​​of BBVA that move us every day.

BBVA has received all the required administrative authorizations from the European Central Bank (ECB) for the resolutions approved by the Board of Directors of BBVA at its meeting held on Dec. 20, 2018, to come into full effect.

BBVA Momentum, the social enterprise accelerator program launched in Spain and Mexico in 2011, wrapped up its second year in the U.S. in November with 16 entrepreneur participants.

BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. Its purpose is to bring the age of opportunity to everyone. This motto reflects the bank’s role as enabler, offering its customers the best banking solutions, helping them make the best financial decisions and making a true difference in their lives. We live in the era of opportunities, where technology offers universal access to education and offers many more people than ever before the possibility of embarking on projects and chasing their dreams. BBVA helps people make their dreams come true.

BBVA Compass Bancshares, Inc., a Sunbelt-based bank holding company (BBVA Compass), reported today net income of $175 million for the third quarter of 2018, a 34 percent increase from the $130 million earned during the third quarter of 2017. Included in third quarter 2017 results is approximately $60 million (pre-tax) of provision expense related to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Return on average assets and return on average tangible equity(1) for the third quarter of 2018 were 0.77 percent and 8.35 percent, respectively.

• Transformation: Digital and mobile customers as well as digital sales continued to grow across all geographies, with a positive impact on efficiency. Digital customers now account for 49% of the total, very close to the year-end target of having half of the customers banking through digital channels
• Income: Operating income improved (+5.8 percent at constant exchange rates), driven by a positive trend in recurring revenues and containment in operating expenses. BBVA’s ROE between January and September was 12.2 percent, with ROTE standing at 14.8 percent
• Risks: The NPL ratio was 4.1 percent in September (4.4 percent in June). Coverage ratio reached 73 percent
• Capital: Despite a complex environment, the fully-loaded CET1 ratio stood at 11.34 percent. During the first nine months of the year, the tangible book value per share plus dividends grew 7.2 percent to €5.95

Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş., released its earnings report dated September 30, 2018. Based on the consolidated financials, Garanti’s asset size reached TL 456.33 billion, while its contribution to the economy through cash and non-cash loans increased to TL 354.75 billion. The Bank’s ROAE (Return on Average Equity) stood at 17.5% and ROAA (Return on Average Assets) reached 2.0%.

BBVA Compass today launched the Birmingham chapter of its Business Resource Group (BRG) Women in Leadership.

Because safety is our top priority, many BBVA Compass branches along the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast were closed on Oct. 10 due to Hurricane Michael. Below are the branches’ current status. We will continue to provide any updates as they become available. Online Banking and the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking app are still available, and you can also call us at 1-800-COMPASS.

After obtaining all required authorizations, BBVA closed the transaction that will transfer its real estate business in Spain to Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. The deal was announced in November 2017. The closing of the transaction results in the sale of 80 percent of Divarian’s share capital to Cerberus, the company created to transfer the real estate portfolio. BBVA is to retain the remaining 20 percent stake.

More than 1,800 BBVA Compass employees — plus another 250 friends and family members — joined their BBVA co-workers across the globe to participate in the bank’s Week of Volunteering September 24-30.  Employees across the footprint participated in 189 individual events, including Habitat for Humanity projects, food bank initiatives, community clean up efforts, and financial education workshops for individuals and small businesses.

BBVA Compass recently rolled out a new app and online platform that makes it easier for employees at every level to develop their leadership skills.

On December 31, 2018, Francisco González will step down as BBVA Group Executive Chairman, after 18 years at the helm of the bank and almost four more as Chairman of Argentaria. Following the Board’s announcement regarding the approval of the chairman’s succession plan, we sit down with him for an hour to talk about the meaning of his decision.

The American Heart Association recently announced the results of its 2018 Workplace Health Achievement Index, a comprehensive annual survey that uses science-based and evidence-informed methods to evaluate the overall effectiveness of workplace health programs across the nation.

Financial services industry trade publication American Banker has named BBVA Compass Chief Talent and Culture Executive Rosilyn Houston to its Women to Watch list for the third consecutive year.

This summer, BBVA launched the first edition of the BBVA Values Global Recognition Program. It’s a special recognition designed to reward employees who best represent BBVA’s Values: The Customer Comes First, We Think Big, and We Are One Team. The awards are called the ViVa Awards.

Making BBVA Compass a better place to work is an inside job, and now team members have a new tool for offering feedback and suggestions about how to do just that.

BBVA Compass announced Wednesday the appointment of David Bolocan as its Executive Director of Consumer Segments and Deposits, where he has overall responsibility for setting the strategic direction of consumer deposit products and the retail and mass market segments.

Moody’s has affirmed BBVA’s A3 rating, maintaining a stable outlook on the Group’s financial debt. The ratings agency said the rating affirmation reflects the resilience of BBVA’s credit profile to the deterioration of the operating environment in Turkey.

BBVA has requested arbitration procedures through the complementary mechanism of the ICSID – the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes – within the framework of the Reciprocal Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements between Spain and Bolivia with respect to the transfer of BBVA Previsión AFP (Pension Fund Administrator) to the Government of Bolivia.

Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş. announced its financial statements for the first half to June 30, 2018. On a consolidated financial basis, in the first six months of 2018, Garanti had assets of TL384.878 billion, while its contribution to the economy through cash and non-cash loans increased to TL319.244 billion. The Bank’s ROAE (Return on Average Equity) was 18.1 percent and ROAA (Return on Average Assets) 2.1 percent.

BBVA reported net attributable profit of €2.65 billion for the first six months of 2018, up 14.9 percent from the same period a year earlier (+29.5 percent in constant terms). Upbeat revenue trends, containment in operating expenses, and lower loan-loss impairments and provisions were the key drivers of growth.

BBVA today released its second quarter 2018 financial results. What were the key figures? To begin with, the bank is close to meeting its goal of having 50 percent of its total customer base made up of digital customers. Customer digitization drives sales through digital channels, propels total sales and improves efficiency. BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila said,  “We were off to a very good start of 2018 last quarter, and this quarter we’ve managed to achieve some excellent results.”

• Transformation: At the end of June, BBVA’s digital customer base stood at 25.1 million (+26 percent yoy). Of these, 20.7 million were mobile customers (+43 percent yoy). Digital sales increased in H1-18 and now account for 39 percent of total sales. All this contributed to strengthen recurring banking revenues and to keep efficiency at 49.2 percent
• Income: Solid trends in recurring revenues and cost containment efforts drove operating income growth in the first six months of 2018 (+6.8 percent in constant terms). Profitability has also improved significantly. ROE stood at 11.7 percent, while ROTE was 14.3 percent
• Risks: Risk indicators continued to perform robustly. At the end of June, the NPL ratio stood at 4.4 percent, with coverage of 71 percent
• Capital: A pro-forma fully-loaded CET ratio of 11.40 percent was reached in June. It includes the sale of BBVA Chile (finalized in July) and the Cerberus agreement to reduce its exposure to the real estate business. The tangible book value per share grew in the quarter

BBVA has celebrated its first ‘Values Day.’ A day to embrace and live the values of the Group: Customer comes first; We think big; We are one team. BBVA Executive chairman Francisco González and CEO Carlos Torres Vila reaffirmed these values as “the heart of a long process of transformation that the bank is spearheading at a global level.”

BBVA is a global brand. BBVA’s purpose is to “bring the age of opportunity to everyone.” And today, opportunities lie in the digital world.  And this is where we strive, trying to tell the best stories about our journey. That is why we’re reinventing ourselves and introducing the new bbva.com

BBVA has agreed to sell a property development loan portfolio worth €1 billion (gross) in a deal that virtually puts the finishing touches to its strategy of reducing its real-estate risk in Spain in half the time initially expected. BBVA estimates that including all the operations announced since December 2016 it has cut its gross exposure to the sector by €20 billion.

Jaime Sáenz de Tejada is Spain’s best CFO and the best in Europe’s banking industry, according to the Extel Survey. Group BBVA has achieved excellent results in different categories in the 2018 edition of this prestigious international survey.

BBVA Compass, the U.S. subsidiary of global financial services group BBVA, announced last Wednesday that Celie Niehaus has been named the bank’s Chief Compliance Officer and a member of its Management Committee.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), BBVA took part in a conference on capital markets. What will they be like in the future? According to José Manuel González-Páramo, they will be “digital and sustainable”. Digital on the strength of innovation by technologies such as blockchain, automated advice and trading algorithms; and sustainable because they will help attract “green” finance.

Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto has honored Francisco González with the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle in recognition of his professional career. At the awards ceremony, BBVA Group Executive Chairman extended his gratitude and expressed confidence in the future of the country. “Mexico is destined to play a leading role in the community of nations. It has everything: resources, keen, hard-working people and its geographical location.”

BBVA Compass in April announced a new addition to its Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) benefit, Rethink, an award-winning program that provides support to parents raising children with learning and behavioral challenges, or developmental disabilities.

These are the ratios that show up the financial position of a bank. This is a disclosure of BBVA’s ratios calculated as of March 2018.

BBVA posted a net attributable profit of €1.34 billion between January and March 2018, up 11.8 percent compared to the same period of 2017 (+22.3 percent in constant terms) and the highest quarterly result in the past three years. During Q1-18, BBVA Group’s net attributable profit grew across all regions year-on-year. A solid performance of recurring revenues, moderation in operating expenses and the drop in impairment losses on financial assets and provisions were the main drivers supporting this growth.

• Transformation: Digital sales grew in all regions and accounted for 37 percent of total in Q1-18. Clients banking through digital channels rose 25 percent yoy, while those using mobile devices grew 43 percent. Such exponential growth contributed to the strength of recurring revenues, and the efficiency ratio reached its best reading since June 2012
• Income: Driven by strong recurring revenues and cost containment efforts, the operating income grew 5.1 percent yoy in constant terms
• Risks: Risk indicators continued to perform positively. At the end of March, the NPL ratio stood at 4.4 percent, with coverage of 73 percent
• Capital: BBVA’s pro forma fully-loaded CET1 ratio -including the already announced agreements of BBVA Chile and Cerberus, which are to be concluded later this year- stood at 11.47 percent at the end of March

Financial institutions are preparing to present Q1 2018 earnings. Next week, it will be the turn of most Spanish banks, among them BBVA.

In 2017, BBVA Group paid €9.9 billion in taxes, a 5 percent year-on-year increase. The amount paid in worldwide taxes for its own business activities was €4.1 billion, 9 percent more than in 2016. For the sixth consecutive year, BBVA has voluntarily disclosed its total tax contribution, consisting of the total of its own taxes and those made on behalf of third parties, thus complying with its corporate principle of transparency and a commitment to social responsibility.

After the AGM’s approval of the financial statements for last year, BBVA has made available to the market the most salient information on the year in the ‘BBVA in 2017’ report. The report lays out in a simple and intuitive way details on the strategy and performance of the Group throughout the year, with the focus on matters of relevance for BBVA interest groups.

Today, BBVA hosts its AGM at Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao (Spain). Group Executive Chairman Francisco González and CEO Carlos Torres Vila will present a summary of the company’s activity in 2017.

BBVA signed a collaboration agreement with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), setting out the cooperation framework to raise awareness on and facilitate the understanding of industrial property-related issues within BBVA.

Representatives of the Government of Singapore, a beacon of innovation in Asia, and BBVA met at the institution’s headquarters in Madrid to share digital experiences and strengthen cooperation. The Government of Singapore inquired about BBVA’s digital strategy and set out its views on fintech and cybersecurity regulations.

The Shareholders General Meeting is one of a capital company’s fundamental governing mechanisms. During the meeting, the shareholders of the company adopt resolutions about matters required by law or by the company’s corporate bylaws. In the case of listed companies, AGMs have a defined structure established by the corporation law.

Garanti Bank CEO Fuat Erbil said the turkish bank’s performance last year far exceeded expectations and looks forward to extending that success this year. “Last year was much more positive than expected, both for the country, the sector and Garanti,” Fuat Erbil told journalists in a recent meeting. “As witnessed by the positive outlook for key indicators and investor interest, 2017 was a successful year for Turkey. The banking sector’s performance excelled expectations as domestic demand increased and economic activity as a whole expanded”.