At his first Annual General Meeting (AGM) as Group executive chairman of BBVA, Carlos Torres Vila was re-elected as a Board member with more than 98 percent of the votes, according to provisional data available at the end of the event. The shareholders meeting in Bilbao today also supported the appointment of Onur Genç as a Board member of the BBVA Group with 99 percent of the votes. A large number of institutional and minority shareholders participated in the voting, with a quorum over 64 percent.

Carlos Torres Vila, Group executive chairman

• Impact on society: “The future of banking lies in financing the future. At BBVA we want to define the new way of banking that the communities we serve are calling for and need”

• Transformation: “In 2018 we reached a pivotal milestone: to surpass the threshold of 50 percent digital customers”

• Dividend: “The strong results allow us to increase the dividend. At this Annual General Meeting, BBVA is proposing a complementary dividend of €0.16 per share, to be paid in April this year.” The total dividend for the year amounts to €0.26 per share, a 37 percent payout of the bank’s profit

Onur Genç, Chief executive officer

• Digitization: “We began our transformation ahead of the curve, and we are already reaping the benefits of this foresight”

BBVA shareholders have an appointment this Friday at the Euskalduna Concert Center in Bilbao, Spain. Starting at 12:00 CET, Group Executive Chairman Carlos Torres Vila and CEO Onur Genç will take stock of 2018 and offer their vision of 2019.

For the second consecutive year, BBVA’s General Annual Meeting, to be held in Bilbao on March 15, has been certified by AENOR as a sustainable event in accordance with ISO 20121. Changes this year include improved accessibility for all participants and an increased number of suppliers committed to the sustainability of the event.

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.

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.

BBVA AGM approves the Group’s financial statements with 99.67 percent of votes

The remaining items in the agenda were approved by a large majority.

Francisco González, Group Executive Chairman

• Transformation: “We’ve reached a digital tipping point. In six countries more than 50 percent of customers are digital”
• Dividend: “Our earnings in 2017 allow us to maintain a very solid stream of dividends, with a clear, predictable and sustainable remuneration policy”

• Principles: “We’ve gone through a deep financial crisis and BBVA emerged from it with a very strong reputation”

Carlos Torres Vila, CEO

• Evaluation: “In 2017 we accelerated our transformation, making great strides in the digitization of our business with a huge impact in terms of sales and customer loyalty and satisfaction”

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’s Annual General Meeting, which took place on March 16th in Bilbao, boasted an event sustainability management system that was compliant with the UNE-ISO 20121:2013 standard, as certified by AENOR. This certification validates the 2018 Annual General Meeting as a Sustainable Event due to its “clear commitment” to the environmentally, socially and economically sustainable criteria defined by the standard.

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.

The European Commission just unveiled a new directive on corporate governance, and more specifically on shareholders’ rights, which will have to be transposed nationwide by June 2019. The Commission’s initiative serves a dual purpose:  It wants to promote the use of new technologies in the corporate governance of companies while increasing the commitment to transparency among institutional investors, asset managers and the companies in which they invest.

Francisco González, Group Executive Chairman

Strategy: “We are currently executing our plan – multiplying and improving our projects, anticipating our customers’ needs to improve their experience and increasing the number of customers. Growth in products and solutions is going to be explosive”

2016: “It has been a very good year for BBVA. In a complex environment, our profit increased by almost 32 percent. We improved our risk profile and strengthened our capital base”

Customers: “This great project intends to set a new standard of service in banking by creating more and better opportunities for customers because they will benefit the most from BBVA’s technological progress and transformation”

Carlos Torres Vila, CEO

Goal: “The key to a successful business in the long term is having customers who appreciate us and recommend us”

The Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao hosted BBVA’s annual meeting with its shareholders for yet another year. Group Executive Chairman Francisco González maintained that the bank’s transformation into a digital business is “delivering very tangible results. We have a clear strategic plan, we have the tools, we have the teams and we are already in the plan’s execution stage.” BBVA’s Executive Chairman indicated  in his presentation that growth in products and solutions “is going to be explosive” and will “improve customers’ experience.”

Here are today’s top stories:

– Quorum was over 62%

– Financial statements approved with support from more than 99% of the votes

Francisco González was re-elected Group Executive Chairman of BBVA, with over 96% of the votes during the Annual General Meeting held today in Bilbao. In 2013 he was re-elected with 90.9% of votes.

Annual General Meeting 2016

BBVA will propose the appointment of Sunir Kapoor and Andrew Stott as new independent board members during its Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. The Meeting will be held in Bilbao on March 11th, 2016, as notified in the Relevant Event containing the agenda and to which this press release is appended.

Today, BBVA held its Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in Bilbao. In their speeches, the Chairman and CEO, Francisco González, and the President and COO, Ángel Cano, recapped the milestones of 2014 and outlined BBVA’s strategy going forward. “No one stands where we do, and we are doing what no one else is. We are building the best digital bank of the 21st century.” With these remarks on BBVA’s digital transformation, Francisco González opened his annual speech to the bank’s shareholders.