The European Union continues to redouble its focus on sustainable finances and as part of this strategy the European Parliament last week held a forum attended by the main players in the financial world, among them BBVA through the presence of Antoni Ballabriga, Global Head of Responsible Business at the Bank.

The banking industry is taking another step towards laying the groundwork to tackle the climate change threat with a new set of tools. The groundbreaking methodologies published today, aimed at helping the banking sector understand and manage the adverse effects and the opportunities of climate change in their loan portfolio. The methodologies are the result of a joint effort by sixteen leading global banking institutions – including BBVA – and Acclimatise, a UK-based climate change advisory.

BBVA Compass has selected 16 social entrepreneurs from across the country to participate in its BBVA Momentum accelerator program, designed to help participants enhance their operations to impact the lives of more people.

The role the financial sector must currently play in the fight against climate change, the challenges posed of sustainable financing and the proposed series of objectives to facilitate green financing were some of the issues discussed by the Sustainable Financing Solutions panel. This debate closed the first edition of BBVA Sustainable Finance Forum, which was held on May 9 and brought together investors, entrepreneurs and public and private sector institutions with the aim of promoting sustainable development and the fight against climate change.

Iberdrola, Repsol and BlackRock representatives debated today about the need to integrate climate change into their strategies, speaking at the ‘BBVA Sustainable Finance Forum’ event, held today at BBVA’s headquarters in Madrid. The main takeaways were two: An actual commitment to sustainability is an opportunity, not a threat; and, more and more, investors demand companies to include sustainable criteria in their strategies.

Human rights are an essential element of BBVA’s purpose: “to bring the age of opportunity to everyone.” Its Commitment to human rights, approved in 2018, sets the foundations for further progress in that direction, involving all the people who work in BBVA’s ecosystem.

One more year, BBVA will join Earth Hour: A campaign promoted by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that has blossomed into a worldwide movement in the fight against climate change.

Putting up a new calendar and starting a new year means taking stock of past achievements and setting new goals. In the area of Responsible Banking, BBVA is ready to take on new challenges, in order to continue making strides in responsible financing, digital transformation, human rights and other important areas.

Dr. David Ferguson moved to San Antonio, Texas a little less than a decade ago to find a warm place to plant his roots with his family. Little did he know that his business would heat up shortly thereafter.

A proposed new law would require Spanish companies to increase the non-financial information in their management reports and expand content on corporate governance in their annual reports. The bill aims to measure, supervise and manage companies’ performance and their impact on society and the environment.

BBVA is collaborating with CSR Europe to translate the “Blueprint for Embedding Human Rights in Key Company Functions” into Spanish. This manual uses practical examples and specific guidelines to help companies incorporate human rights into their business.

As a partner in the Spanish Network of the United Nations’ Global Compact, BBVA works to promote sustainability and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). United Nations Day provides a time to recall the role companies play in peoples’ lives and the need for them to make a firm commitment to creating a better future.

Consumers might see their products at grocery stores across Texas, on airplanes, or at their factory nestled in Houston’s historic East End, an up-and-coming community undergoing a rebirth. Pita Pal Foods, LP is much more than a company producing a suite of Mediterranean products and gourmet foods:  it’s a symbol of how far East End has come.

BBVA has joined a group of 14 banks that have made a commitment to the United Nations Environment Programme – Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) to implement the recommendations on financing and climate change published by the Financial Stability Board in July in the framework of the G20.

Garanti Bank believes that for any economy to achieve further growth, the participation of women in the labor force is crucial. Women must be encouraged to be entrepreneurs, and women- owned businesses must be supported. Garanti took action in 2006, becoming the first private bank to define  women entrepreneurs as a separate client segment. “To empower women entrepreneurs”, Garanti Bank has had a sustainable Women Entrepreneurs program over a decade. In this respect, the activities focus on four core areas; access to finance, encouragement, education and penetrating new markets.

In Mexico City, BBVA held the first edition of EduFin Summit, a global event on financial education organized by the Center for Financial Education and Capabilities, which the bank established early this year. With this forum, BBVA is giving the global movement for financial education a significant boost, consolidating the bank’s role as a global leader.

Yesterday, Tradebe obtained the world’s first green syndicated financing in term loan format, for a total of €265 million. The transaction was signed by 11 national and foreign financial institutions with strong oversubscription under BBVA’s leadership as Facility and Green Agent, Coordinator and Sole Bookrunner.

June 5 is World Environment Day, a UN initiative to raise awareness about the need to take care of the planet. BBVA will illuminate some of its most emblematic buildings in green as a gesture to signify its commitment to this cause.

Women still have a long way to go in Latin America and data is the key to driving social policies than will put an end to inequality. This was the principal conclusion reached by the Fundación Microfinanzas BBVA, (Microfinance Foundation BBVA) during its participation in CSW61, the largest United Nations meeting on gender inequality and the empowerment of women.

The Observatorio Empresarial contra la Pobreza (Business Observatory to Combat Poverty), with the support of BBVA, has published a report entitled The road to youth employment. What can businesses do. The report addresses the problem of youth unemployment and its consequences from a number of angles.

In an environment where companies are becoming increasingly aware about the importance of sustainability, green bonds are taking hold as a funding alternative: In 2016 global green bond issues reached $87 billion, a record level after closing at $42 billion in 2015.

BBVA celebrates International Working Women’s Day with further progress as regards work/life balance, entrepreneurship and professional promotion. This is the right time to look back on one year of initiatives that promote female talent and try to mitigate the social injustices that affect women.

BBVA is a conscientious bank that’s committed to doing right, and it evaluates a project’s social and environmental risks before making financing decisions. A global corporate citizen present in dozens of countries, we are signers of the UN Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and a member of the Thun Group on Human Rights.

BBVA, the most active Spanish bank as regards the issuance of green bonds in 2015 (according to Bloomberg), has taken a giant leap by signing a green loan in favor of Iberdrola for 500 million euros. Being the first operation of this type for an energy sector company, this agreement involves the highest sum as of this date.

How do ecosystems respond to human action? Is it possible to predict their behavior? Ecologists Gene E. Likens and Marten Scheffer, recent BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge award winners in the Ecology and Conservation Biology category, have produced work that tackles one of the main challenges this scientific discipline faces.

The Integra Awards aim to recognize innovative initiatives that create quality jobs for people with disabilities in Spain. This initiative is part of BBVA’s Integra Plan, which stems from its conviction that employment is essential for promoting equal opportunities for everyone.

On Wednesday, BBVA signed a green loan in favor of Iberdrola for 500 million euros. In addition to being the first operation of this type for an energy sector company, this agreement involves the highest sum as of this date.

Fundación Másfamilia has honored a group of companies, including BBVA, for their commitment to the work/life balance of their employees and for their efforts in terms of equality and diversity.

Climatologists Syukuro Manabe and James Hansen are the winners of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of knowledge Award in the category “Climate Change.” Their research made it possible to predict global warming caused by the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere.

The Dutch NGO PAX recently published a new edition of the report, “Don’t Bank on the Bomb”, which documents and denounces the governments and banks around the world that are financing of companies producing nuclear weapons. The organization also annually publishes the report “Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions: A Shared Responsibility”, which focuses on financing of cluster bombs.

The ceremony of the 11th edition of the the BBVA Foundation’s Biodiversity Conservation Awards has revealed the need to find global policies against climate change. These awards recognize the efforts of the winners to avoid the destruction of the natural heritage and promote knowledge, action and awareness of ecology and conservation biology.

After the financial crisis of 2008, the role that banks need to play in society seems to have been finally clarified. The purpose – or the rationale – of a bank is currently defined in terms of service to citizens, the community or the specific groups with which it interacts (stakeholders).  In this new business model, principles are integrated into the bank’s strategy and grant consistency and unity to three fundamental concepts:  the purpose, the strategy and the corporate culture.  Today in the banking industry, the talk is not about what we want to be but how to become what we want to be. In other words: how to build a responsible culture.

BBVA Compass repeated its participation in the AFPAware Community Service Day and helped the most disadvantaged. This year, the Community Service Day took place in Orlando and raised 4,500 kilos of food and 2,000 care kits for abuse victims and families in need.

Around 300 female managers participated in Encuentro Promociona which was held at Ciudad BBVA. This event, chaired by Her Majesty Queen Letizia, is part of the Promociona Program designed to promote women’s access to senior management positions and boards of directors of companies.

According to the ranking compiled by the US company Bloomberg, BBVA tops the most active list of Spanish banks in the market for environmentally responsible financing. The trend is global and the volume of green bonds issued on the planet is reaching record figures.

BBVA has made further progress in driving the employability and labor integration of those experiencing social exclusion, via a corporate volunteering initiative. The bank has signed a partnership agreement with Compromiso Integra, a network of companies and entities committed to supporting socially responsible employment that is run by Integra Foundation.

BBVA Foundation’s Biodiversity Conservation Awards recognize each year a number of activities based on scientific knowledge of nature. Each year, the winners show that good results can be obtained that have a lasting effect on the environment. This edition’s winners are engaged in activities as diverse as the rehabilitation of Spanish fauna, land conservation or recording a sound archive of nature.

As a result of the integral transformation process kicked off in 2016, BBVA Bancomer established a scheme to implement a strategy based on the new concept of “Responsible Business” as the focal point of its social responsibility actions. The strategy is built on three cornerstones in first place, social actions aimed at fostering education and which are carried out through the BBVA Bancomer Foundation; the second, financial education; and third the promotion of entrepreneurship, primarily with a societal focus.

The need, scope and nature of renewable energies are universal, but their development across different regions is uneven, and business opportunities in the sector are a battlefield where the interests of investors, engineers, ecologists, politicians and economists clash. Nobody seems to care what consumers – as both clients and citizens –  have to say, allowed only to witness the debate as confused and voiceless spectators.

Retirement remains an area that Spain needs to improve on. In Spain, only two out of every ten residents are saving for their retirement. In this context, it is necessary to raise awareness about planning your financial future. To this end, the BBVA Pensions Institute has carried out several initiatives in collaboration with the European Financial Planning Association (EFPA).

The planet’s survival is an issue over which, by definition, all interests converge. Finally, after wasting precious decades and, with some exceptions, renewable energies seem to be managing to get politicians, businesses and citizens to unite and fight for a common cause.

BBVA Compass announced that José ‘Pepe’ Olalla has been tapped as its Head of Business Development, an interim post he has held since December 2015 and one that plays a key role in the bank’s ongoing digital transformation in the face of changing consumer demands.

Investors, customers and society in general are demanding increasingly higher levels of transparency. There is also regulation accompanying these new demands, as illustrated by the EU directives on non-financial information that will become applicable in 2017.

BBVA is taking a step further in integrating people with Down syndrome through the internship agreements of its Territorial Divisions with several industry associations. These initiatives allow those selected to be able to gain the experience they need to find a job and improve their skills.

BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila said today that the sustainability of the banking business model in the current context of negative interest rates requires a change: To leave behind a money-centric infrastructure, based on revenues generated by interests, and develop a banking model that seeks to make a bigger difference in customers’ lives. Speaking during BBVA’s Q1 2016 results presentation, Carlos Torres Vila expressed his conviction that “the more we are capable of offering a distinctive value, the more satisfied customers will be and the more viable and sustainable our business model will be.”

Ciudad BBVA, the BBVA Group’s new headquarters in Madrid, today hosted the General Assembly of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE in Spanish). In his presentation at the conference closure, BBVA’s Executive Chairman praised the work of Spanish businessmen and businesswomen, “Their role is very relevant and their leadership is essential to the future of Spain, even though society does not often recognize this sufficiently.”

Great Place to Work has recognized the capacity and commitment of Cristina de Parias in her role as Director of BBVA Spain. This recognition highlights the strategy and vision of the Group, which considers people as the foundation for success.

BBVA will again be switching off the lights in many of its buildings for the Earth Hour organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

BBVA moves ahead in its transformation process, or “transformation journey”, with the publication of its online annual report BBVA in 2015 covering all the financial and non-financial information on the Group. Following the approval of the 2015 annual accounts at the Annual General Meeting, the bank provides its shareholders and investors the most relevant information from the year in an innovating digital format. With a modern design and the latest trends in navigation and usability, the report presents the bank’s strategy and covers all the year’s management information in a simple and intuitive manner.

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.