BBVA USA today announced it will be one of the first banks in the U.S. to begin processing customer applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, a key small business relief component of the recently passed CARES Act and administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA).

BBVA USA today announced that it would be closing most of its 637 branch lobbies and instead serving customers through its drive-thrus as a proactive measure to protect the health and well-being of customers, employees and communities, as well as do its part to limit the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19.

BBVA USA is offering special assistance to consumer and small business  customers impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including penalty-free withdrawals from applicable CDs, ATM fee refunds, and payment deferrals, extensions and waivers on existing loans and lines of credit, among other offers.

BBVA shareholders meet today in Bilbao (northern Spain), where the bank will hold its Annual General Meeting. Starting at noon, Group executive chairman Carlos Torres Vila and CEO Onur Genç will present the bank’s shareholders with the most significant 2019 accomplishments and the outlook for 2020.

In light of the situation resulting from the coronavirus, BBVA recommends not attending the Annual General Meeting in person whenever possible. The AGM is to be held on March 13th, 2020, at the Euskalduna Conference Center in Bilbao. Additionally, in order to allow shareholders to exercise the remote vote, BBVA has extended the deadline to do so until Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 08:00 pm.

BBVA’s 2020 Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting (AGM) is scheduled to be held next March 13, 2020, on first call, at the Euskalduna Conference Center in Bilbao. BBVA wishes and promotes the participation of its shareholders in such an important event for the company. For that reason, the bank has made available to its shareholders the appropriate channels to enable the exercise of their rights remotely, which are described in the Annual General Meeting section on the corporate website.

BBVA is operating as normal after activating additional measures on Tuesday following the recommendations made by the Ministry of Health and the Madrid and Basque regional governments, and after an employee at the bank’s Madrid headquarters tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). Following this positive case, the bank has closed the area where the employee worked, as well as some common spaces as a preventive measure. The rest of the bank’s facilities are operating as normal.

Following a selection process that began last November and involved large international firms in advertising communication, BBVA has awarded tenders for media management and the digital ecosystem to WPP Group and Accenture Interactive, respectively.

BBVA’s Turkish unit broke new ground in the country, issuing Turkey’s first integrated annual report based on artificial intelligence. A leader in harnessing the power of technology in its products and services, the bank issued its 2019 Integrated Annual Report entitled ‘The Next Decade’.

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 and the Sunbelt Region of the United States. It is also the leading shareholder in Turkey’s Garanti BBVA.

Following the lifting of the secrecy order, BBVA wishes to reiterate the main messages regarding its actions in recent months.

In response to a statement released by three Spanish press associations, BBVA states that it deeply respects the work of the media and their important role in society, and therefore, it rejects any practice that infringes their fundamental rights, the freedom of information and the freedom of speech.

BBVA is now offering its shareholders the possibility of exercising their right to vote or the delegation of this right through three channels: the websites bbva.es and bbva.com, and the bank’s mobile banking app. These voting and delegation options are available from February 19th through March 12th. BBVA’s Annual General Meeting is planned for March 13th in Bilbao.

 Pillar No. 1

BBVA believes that banks play a key role in the future of society, particularly in how they address the social and environmental challenges we all face.

BBVA has named Mario Pardo Bayona the new CEO of BBVA in Colombia. He will replace Óscar Cabrera, who is leaving the Group to take on new personal and professional challenges, following a successful career in both Spain and Latin America.

BBVA today released its 2019 annual compensation report for its board members, the first that includes sustainability as a non-financial indicator in the variable compensation for the executive chairman. In 2020, the CEO will also have an indicator that will measure the bank’s strategic commitment to climate change and sustainable development. The 2019 compensation policy (applicable for 2019, 2020 and 2021) was already announced last year. It was approved with 94.8 percent of the votes at the Annual General Meeting in March last year.

BBVA is to propose at the Annual General Meeting the appointments of Ana Revenga, Raúl Galamba and Carlos Salazar as new board members. With this announcement, BBVA fosters diversity of its highest decision-making governing body in several areas: female board members will now account for a third of the Board, meeting the goal set for 2020; and foreign board members will represent 40 percent. Areas of knowledge as relevant as sustainability will also be reinforced, especially from a social and aid development standpoint, as well as the global financial system and the Mexican financial sector, in particular. Following these changes, the Board will have two thirds of independent members.

BBVA USA President and CEO Javier Rodríguez Soler recently presented the bank’s new 5-year strategic plan to 250 leaders from across the more than 10,000 person-strong financial institution.

BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc., a Sunbelt-based bank holding company (BBVA USA), reported today a net loss of $331 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. Included in fourth quarter 2019 results is goodwill impairment (non-cash charge) totaling $470 million. Excluding the impact of this non-cash charge, adjusted net income¹ for the quarter was $139 million, a 29 percent decrease from the $196 million earned in the fourth quarter of 2018. Return on average assets and return on average tangible equity¹ for the fourth quarter of 2019 were (1.37) percent and (14.46) percent, respectively. On an adjusted basis, return on average assets¹ was 0.58 percent and return on average tangible equity¹ was 6.09 percent.

Recurring revenues (net interest income and net fees and commissions) continue growing robustly, reaching a record high in 2019. According to BBVA Group executive chairman Carlos Torres Vila, the bank obtained outstanding results despite a macroeconomic environment that was more complex than expected. “Looking toward the future, at BBVA, our goal will be to dig deeper into our strategy, integrating the interests of customers, employees, shareholders and society as a whole, balancing economic, social and environmental perspectives in everything we do,” he indicated.

BBVA Group earned €4.83 billion excluding one-time items in 2019 (+2.7 percent from the previous year), the highest figure since 2009. The results were driven by an increase in recurring revenue and the containment in operating expenses. Including the impact of the goodwill adjustment at its U.S. franchise in 4Q19 and the capital gains from the sale of BBVA Chile in 2018, the net attributable profit declined 35 percent yoy, to €3.51 billion. The bank is to propose for the consideration of the competent governing bodies a gross cash dividend of €0.16 per share to be paid in April 2020, maintaining the same amount as the previous year.

Today, BBVA placed €1 billion of Tier 2 subordinated debt on the market. The debt, maturing on January 16, 2030 has an interest rate of mid-swap plus 127 basis points, 28 basis points below the initial interest rate (mid-swap plus 155 points) and a 1% coupon. Demand for the issuance reached €4.2 billion, exceeding the opening offer by four times.

BBVA USA today announced the appointment of Carin Marcy Barth as the newest member of BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc. Board of Directors.

BBVA has appointed Peio Belausteguigoitia as head of BBVA Spain, replacing Cristina de Parias, who leaves her executive duties after a successful career of more than three decades both inside and outside BBVA. Cristina de Parias will remain involved with the Group as she will join the board of BBVA’s subsidiary in Mexico, once the necessary approvals have been obtained.

BBVA has signed the sale of a written-off loan portfolio (mostly consumer loans) worth a gross total of €2.5 billion. The transaction is BBVA’s biggest ever of this kind to date.

BBVA USA Jacksonville Market CEO Nelson Bradshaw was named by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to serve a second term in the Florida Development Finance Corporation (FDFC). Bradshaw, who serves as the organization’s treasurer, was one of four members announced and the only returning member.

BBVA’s legal representative Adolfo Fraguas today concluded the bank’s declaration before the Central Investigating Court number 6 of the Spanish National High Court. As he did in the previous declarations (November 20 and 28), Fraguas responded extensively to all questions posed, and once again pleaded that the bank bears no responsibility for the facts under investigation.

BBVA USA announced today that it has appointed Fernando L. Crespo as Global Wealth Relationship Manager in its Miami office

BBVA USA announced that its biggest broadcast and digital marketing campaign in a decade will be rolling out Friday and will continue through the remainder of the year and into 2020.

BBVA USA announced today Murat Kalkan will be responsible for the bank’s mortgage and home equity business across the U.S. including mortgage and home equity originations, servicing, secondary marketing, and portfolio management.

BBVA today testified before the Central Investigating Court number 6 of the Spanish National High Court. The declaration, that will continue at a later date, is yet another example of BBVA’s commitment to full cooperation with the judicial authorities, to whom it has provided documents since the onset of the case, proactively sharing the information obtained from the forensic investigation, carried out by Garrigues, Uría Menéndez y PwC.

BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc., a Sunbelt-based bank holding company (BBVA USA), reported today net income of $183 million for the third quarter of 2019 compared to earnings of $160 million in the second quarter of 2019 and $175 million earned in the third quarter of 2018. Return on average assets and return on average tangible equity¹ for the third quarter of 2019 were 0.76 percent and 8.03 percent, respectively.

BBVA earned €1.23 billion in the third quarter, +6.1 percent yoy, excluding capital gains from the sale of BBVA Chile and this franchise’s earnings in 2018. The net attributable profit for the first nine months of 2019 reached €3.67 billion, +1.2 percent yoy (+0.5 percent in constant euros), on a comparable basis. The result was driven mainly by growth in recurring revenues and containment in operating expenses.

Garanti BBVA today announced its third quarter earnings. The bank’s net income for the first nine months of the year was TL 4.998.460 bilion(approximately €786 million), with total assets at TL 411.161.696 billion (around €64.67 billion).

Financial institutions are preparing to present Q3 2019 earnings. This week, it will be the turn of most Spanish banks, among them BBVA.

• Sustainability: BBVA USA becomes a founding signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, joining 130 banks worldwide committed to sustainability.
• Open Platform: BBVA Open Platform CEO Abhishek Gupta discusses the benefits of open banking and Banking-as-a-Service.
• Industry Recognitions: BBVA USA Chief Talent & Culture Executive earns Most Powerful Women in Banking recognition, and BBVA Net Cash USA Mobile app wins for best mobile and online experience.

BBVA USA announced today that John Chan has been promoted to Director of the bank’s Community Development Capital team, where he will have overall responsibility for the origination and portfolio management of the bank’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects across its footprint.

The American Heart Association (AHA) yesterday named BBVA USA to its 2019 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.

• Community Investment: BBVA and the Montrose Center, along with Houston community leaders, break ground on an affordable, LGBTQ-affirming independent senior living center.
• Retail Banking: BBVA USA Retail Banking Head Çağri Süzer highlights why branches and digital are complementary forces for the bank.
• Small Business: BBVA and the Houston Dynamo announce their annual small business contest.

BBVA has reached an agreement with Banco GNB Paraguay, a unit of Grupo Financiero Gilinski, to sell 100% of its capital in BBVA Paraguay, for about 270 million dollars (about 240 million euros). Said price is subject to the regular adjustments for these kind of transactions between the signing and closing dates of the transaction.

BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc., a Sunbelt-based bank holding company (BBVA), reported today net income of $160 million for the second quarter of 2019 compared to earnings of $184 million in the second quarter of 2018. Return on average assets and return on average tangible equity¹ for the second quarter of 2019 were 0.69 percent and 7.34 percent, respectively. Net income for the first six months of 2019 totaled $301 million compared to earnings of $393 million for the first six months of 2018. Return on average assets and return on average tangible equity¹ for the first six months of 2019 were 0.65 percent and 7.00 percent, respectively.

Ana Fernández Manrique has been named Global Head of Regulation & Internal Control, replacing Eduardo Arbizu, who is leaving the company after a successful career at BBVA of nearly 20 years.

Following the request from Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office’s on July 24th, the Central Investigating Court number 6 of the National High Court today declared BBVA as an investigated party of piece number 9 of the ‘Tándem’ case -which is under secrecy order- for bribery, unveiling and revelation of secrets and business corruption. The condition as an investigated legal entity does not imply -in this preliminary phase of the process- a formal accusation for any crime.

The Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office announced this morning that it has requested the Central Investigating Court number 6 of the National High Court to declare BBVA as an investigated legal entity as part of piece number 9 of the ‘Tándem’ case, which is under secrecy order.

Emilio Ybarra, the former co-chairman of BBVA, has died. He was 82.

BBVA USA was recognized by Kiplinger as its runner-up in the Best Banks for High-Net-Worth Families category for 2019. The Washington, D.C.-based publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice cited BBVA’s expansive wealth services, including its attractive relationship program and well-regarded private bank, and specifically noted its Premier Personal Banking program.

Credit rating agency Fitch has upgraded BBVA’s senior preferred debt long-term rating by one notch to A from A-. Fitch has also affirmed the Group’s long-term Issuer Default Rating at A- with a negative outlook, thanks to the strength of the bank in Spain and the resilience of its Mexican franchise.

As part of its digital transformation strategy, the BBVA Group recently introduced a new brand identity and logo that will be used in all countries where the bank has a presence.