BBVA shareholders backed the possibility of redeeming up to 10 percent of the bank’s share capital, equivalent to 667 million shares, with 99.6 percent of the votes at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Bilbao today. This item on the agenda aims to be able to implement a relevant share buyback, as means of distribution to shareholders.

The Spanish National Police’s Unit of Internal Affairs (UAI, in Spanish) has issued a report on its investigation of the 2.3 million documents (hits) provided by BBVA in the Cenyt case. The report does not provide any information that had not already been made available by BBVA to the Judge and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. This confirms that not only the internal investigation ordered by BBVA was objective, rigorous and thorough, but it also shows the full cooperation with the judicial authorities in clarifying the facts, a priority set by the bank since the onset of the proceedings.

BBVA CEO Onur Genç said today that the sale of the U.S. subsidiary is a historic milestone for the bank, and that value creation will continue to be the guiding force in all decisions related to the use of the excess capital from that transaction. “We have a lot of ammunition, a lot of capital” to create value for shareholders, he added. Regarding Turkey, he said that: “We are prepared to manage the risks in emerging markets.”

BBVA has named Patricia Bueno as new Head of Investor & Shareholder relations, within the area of Finance.

BBVA’s CFO, Jaime Sáenz de Tejada, shared his optimism with international investors regarding the medium-term growth prospects for lending in Spain and Mexico. In Spain, he noted the impact of the EU recovery fund – Next Generation EU- which will expedite the transformation of the production model. The financial sector will be able to amplify its impact through by offering greater financing. As for Mexico, he underscored the positive effect of the new tax stimulus package in the U.S., which will boost remittances and manufacturing activity, along with the new free trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

BBVA has called its Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held virtual-only on April 20th, 2021. With the goal of being able to implement a significant potential share buyback, it will be submitted for approval of the AGM the possibility of reducing the bank’s share capital up to 10 percent – the equivalent of approximately 667 million shares. Additionally, BBVA proposes the re-election of seven board members, whose term ends in 2021. It would thus maintain unchanged the composition of the Group’s highest governing body, which currently has two thirds of independent members and an appropriate balance and diversity in several areas: experience, knowledge and expertise, gender and international representation.

BBVA earned €1.32 billion between October and December, its highest quarterly result over the past two years. In 2020 BBVA helped three million clients affected by the pandemic, with about €63 billion in government-backed credit lines and loan deferrals. The sale of the U.S. subsidiary will provide some €8.5 billion in capital to grow in a profitable way across its footprint and increase shareholder distributions. BBVA will make a gross cash payment of €0.059 per share against 2020 earnings, and expects to resume its shareholder distribution policy in 2021 with a payout of 35-40 percent of profits. Additionally, the bank is targeting a buyback of about 10 percent of the Group’s shares, after the close of the sale of the U.S. franchise. All this subject to market conditions and the required approvals.

BBVA has successfully closed the sale of its 100 percent share capital in BBVA Paraguay to Banco GNB Paraguay, a unit of Grupo Gilinski, after obtaining all required authorizations.

BBVA has appointed José Luis Elechiguerra, current Head of Client Solutions in the United States, as Global Head of Engineering & Organization, replacing Ricardo Forcano who, after a successful decade at BBVA, is leaving the bank to start an academic research project.

Following the relevant event released on November 16, 2020, BBVA announces on another relevant event filed with Spanish regulator CNMV that the conversations in relation to a potential merger transaction with Banco de Sabadell have come to an end without any agreement.

BBVA has agreed to sell to PNC its subsidiary in the U.S. for $11.6 billion (€9.7 billion¹) in cash, an amount that represents 19.7 times the unit’s 2019 earnings², and that is almost 50% of BBVA’s current market capitalization, creating significant value for shareholders. The transaction will have a positive impact on BBVA’s fully loaded CET1 ratio of c.300 basis points, or €8.5 billion of CET1 generation.

BBVA´s CEO presented this year´s third quarter results on Friday, October 30. At the press conference, Onur Genç affirmed that BBVA’s leadership in transformation has a “true competitive advantage” and reiterated the institution´s focus on organic growth. In the first nine months of 2020, “we have attracted 350,000 clients in Spain”, something that is especially relevant in the current context marked by the COVID-19 crisis. “We have shown that we can grow using digital channels in Spain,” he said.

BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc., a Sunbelt-based bank holding company (BBVA USA), reported today net income of $166 million for the third quarter of 2020 compared to a net loss of $124 million in the second quarter of 2020 and net income of $183 million in the third quarter of 2019. Return on average assets and return on average tangible equity(1) for the third quarter of 2020 were 0.63 percent and 7.32 percent, respectively.

The BBVA Group’s results have been improving throughout 2020. The bank earned €1.14 billion in the third quarter (-6.8 percent in current euros, +4.1 percent at constant rates). This result is 79.5 percent higher than this year’s second quarter results in current euros (+83.4 percent at constant rates).  In addition, the strength of recurring revenues and cost containment efforts helped to boost operating income compared to the third quarter of 2019. “Net attributable profit grew significantly in the third quarter compared to previous quarters. This positive performance was the result of our resilient recurrent income, coupled with our focus on cost control and a better evolution of impairments, thanks to the significant provisioning effort in the first half of the year,” said BBVA CEO Onur Genç.

BBVA earned €1.14 billion in the third quarter of 2020. It is the best quarterly result of the year and far exceeds the figure for 2Q20 (+79.5 percent in current euros, +83.4 percent at constant rates). Compared to the same period a year earlier, the 3Q20 result is 6.8 percent lower (+4.1 percent at constant rates). The strength of recurring revenues and cost containment efforts drove quarterly operating income to grow 13.5 percent yoy at constant exchange rates. In a challenging context marked by the pandemic, BBVA has shown a solid capacity to generate capital, with risk indicators having a positive performance. BBVA’s quarterly results also beat market expectations by 48 percent, as analysts’ consensus expected a result of €773 million.

Onur Genç, BBVA CEO:

The judge underlines that BBVA has contributed all relevant results for the preliminary investigation, accepts the bank’s offer to make documents available and dismisses all requests from other parties.

BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group operates in more than 30 countries and has a strong leadership position in the Spanish market, is the largest financial institution in Mexico, it has leading franchises in South America. It is also the leading shareholder in Turkey’s Garanti BBVA.

In a presentation for investors organized by Bank of America (BoFA) and in which BBVA CEO took part this morning, BBVA raised the Group’s guidance for 2020, thanks mostly to an improvement in its business activity in Mexico. At Group level, recurring revenues in constant euros will grow in 2H20 compared to the previous half of the year thanks to a recovery in new retail loan production and focus on price management. Furthermore, BBVA expects to beat its expectations regarding cost reductions for 2020, and improves its cost of risk expectations for 2020, to a range between 1.5 and 1.6 percent in cumulative terms for the year, thanks to a better performance in Mexico. The Group plans to close 2020 with a fully-loaded CET1 capital ratio above the target range. BBVA’s intention is to resume dividend payments once the existing supervisory recommendation is eliminated and COVID-19 uncertainties dissipate.

BBVA placed on Thursday a $2-billion issue of senior preferred debt filed with the U.S. SEC. The issue consists of two tranches, with a maturity of three and five years: The three-year tranche accounted for $1.2 billion, while the five-year one reached $800 million. Demand topped a maximum of $5 billion, with 210 orders, and the book closed with orders of $4.5 billion: $2.5 billion for the three-year tranche and $2 billion for the five-year tranche. Investors’ appetite allowed for the starting price to be set lower. The interest rate has been set at the U.S. Treasury rate plus 75 basis points spread for the three-year tranche (versus a starting spread of 100 bps) and a 100 bps spread for the five-year tranche (vs. a starting spread of 125 bps).

As companies across the globe struggle to find a balance between protecting the health and safety of employees and maintaining an efficient and effective workforce, BBVA is using its highly visible leadership team to meet that challenge with frequent transparent updates.

BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc., a Sunbelt-based bank holding company (BBVA USA), reported today a net loss of $124 million for the second quarter of 2020 compared to earnings of $160 million in the second quarter of 2019. Included in the second quarter 2020 results is a substantial increase in provision for credit losses, well in excess of net-charge-offs, that reflects the ongoing adverse macroeconomic environment and corresponding forecasts given the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent impact to certain segments of the loan portfolio.

The BBVA Group earned €636 million in the first half of the year – more than double the results from January through March, excluding the impact of the goodwill adjustment in the U.S. This was possible thanks to the bank’s efforts to anticipate impairments related to the COVID-19 crisis in the first quarter of the year. In a highly complex context due to the pandemic, the BBVA Group has demonstrated the strength of its profit before provisions in the second quarter of 2020, with operating income up 17.6 percent year-on-year in constant euros. “We are facing this crisis from a position of strength, thanks to the resilience of our revenues, our diversified business model and our digital capabilities. Likewise, our solid capital generation stood out during the quarter,” said BBVA CEO Onur Genç.

Thanks to the bank’s efforts to anticipate impairments related to the COVID-19 in 1Q20, BBVA earned €636 million in the second quarter, doubling the underlying profit from the first quarter. This quarterly figure is on top of extraordinary provisions of €644 million due to the pandemic. In a complex environment, BBVA has once again demonstrated the strength of its operating income, which grew 17.6 percent at constant exchange rates, and its outstanding ability to generate capital. In the first half of the year, net attributable profit excluding one-offs was €928 million (-57.8 percent yoy in constant euros). Including the U.S. goodwill adjustment –recorded in 1Q20– the bank swung to a €-1.16 billion loss between January and June.

Simple, a subsidiary of BBVA USA, today announced the addition of Carrie Roso to the company’s corporate leadership team. Roso will serve as Director of Marketing for the fintech.

How does BBVA manage the evolution of the pandemic across its footprint? After monitoring the news report began emerging earlier this year about a new virus, on March 9, the bank’s Corporate Continuity Committee decided to create a global war room, led by Ricardo Forcano and Carlos Casas, the heads of Engineering & Organization and Talent & Culture, respectively. War room is a military term that is increasingly used in the business world to describe a group of people who are totally dedicated to tackling a crisis, to make timely and agile decisions.

Dircom, the Spanish Association of Communication Executives, announced the names of the winners of this year’s edition of its Ramón de Corral Awards. BBVA took home two awards, one for ‘One BBVA’ named ‘Best integrated campaign for organizational change’ and the other with ‘El Sentido del Cacao’, named ‘Best external campaign for services’ category. Also, BBVA’s ‘Values ​​Day’ event was one of the finalists in the ‘Best in-house event involving over 500 workers’ category.

Analysts praised BBVA’s foresight as the group booked €1.43 billion in provisions during the first quarter to cover the expected impact of COVID-19 on its business. The Group’s capital ratio was another one of the quarter’s standouts.  The reports published by analysts also focused on BBVA’s strong top-line growth and the soundness of the messages conveyed by the bank’s management, particularly in connection with its expectations regarding provisions and capital generation.