Corporate lending
30 Sep 2020
If the context in which banks and companies interacted last year was already complicated due to the political and economic uncertainty, combined with the low interest rate scenario, the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic last March further complicated this context by forcing nearly everyone into lockdown. Investment banks were a key component for the survival of large corporations. Jose Ramón Vizmanos, the Head of Global Client Coverage at BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking, explained this to the financial newspaper Cinco Días in an interview this summer.
15 Sep 2020

Jaime Artola
Global Head of Structured Finance
14 Sep 2020
Corporate lending
BBVA supports Grupo Piñero in signing the first ICO-backed bilateral financing deals
BBVA and Grupo Piñero agreed three sustainable bilateral financing deals on behalf of Levantur. These are the first sustainable bilateral loans to be guaranteed by Spain’s Official Institute of Credit (ICO). The Spanish tourist Group will use the financing for liquidity and working capital needs arising from the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
22 Jul 2020
Corporate lending
BBVA and Acerinox finalize the first sustainable loan in the steel industry in Spain
BBVA and Acerinox make history by closing the first sustainable transaction in the steel industry in Spain. The deal, a bilateral loan totaling €80 million with a maturity of five years, is intended to partially finance the Acerinox acquisition of VDM Metals.
25 Jun 2020
Corporate lending
BBVA, sustainability coordinator of the new revolving credit facility for EnBW in Germany
BBVA, acting as sole sustainability coordinator, has advised the German energy company EnBW to incorporate environmental and social criteria into its core bank financing. This characteristic underscores the company’s sustainable commitment. The financing agreement turns EnBW into one of the first corporations in the world to include sustainability across its entire financing spectrum. EnBW has issued three hybrid bonds and one green bond since 2018; BBVA acted as active bookrunner in the green bond and in one of the hybrids.
15 Jan 2020
Financial and commercial services
From small potatoes, literally, to BBVA USA Houston CEO: The Path of Dillan Knudson
Dillan Knudson has taken somewhat of a circuitous route throughout his career in the financial industry – and beyond – leading to his recent appointment as BBVA Houston CEO.
11 Dec 2019
Corporate lending
BBVA signs first-ever sustainable project finance loan in Spain's hospitality industry
Beachbox Hotelco has become the first company in Spain’s hospitality sector to sign a sustainable project finance loan to finance the construction of the Six Senses Ibiza hotel. BBVA served as sustainable coordinator in the €55 million syndicated loan for the financing of the project. BBVA and Caixabank will each contribute 50 percent of the funds.
30 Jul 2019
Grupo Piñero, a Spanish group dedicated to the vacation industry, closed a bilateral sustainable financing deal with BBVA. The bank acted as the sustainability coordinator. The agreement involves a €20 million revolving credit facility (RCF), which is aligned to the tourism company’s firm commitment to holistic and long-term strategic sustainability.
12 Jun 2019
Corporate lending
BBVA signs its first green loan in Belgium with Katoen Natie and advises on their Sustainable Finance Framework
BBVA is consolidating its leadership in Europe’s green financing market by signing a EUR 25 Mn bilateral green loan with Katoen Natie, a Belgian logistics and engineering company. This transaction represents an important landmark as it is the first green financing closed in Belgium by BBVA. Furthermore, BBVA is not only acting as lender but also as advisor on their Sustainable Finance Framework. The loan is in favour of a subsidiary of Katoen Natie for an innovative industrial recycling plant which will result in the recycling of chemical residues while also recovering materials and producing energy for neighboring industries.
31 May 2019
Redexis has made its €300 million syndicated revolving credit facility sustainable by extending its maturity profile, reducing the average cost of its debt and reinforcing its socially responsible commitment. BBVA acted as sustainable coordinator in this transaction, the first ever by the Spanish energy infrastructure company in the sustainable financing market.
03 Apr 2019
BBVA acted as a sustainable agent, together with Santander, in ACCIONA’s first sustainable syndicated loan of €675 million. In this type of financing, the interest rate is adjusted based on the company’s performance in sustainability parameters.
01 Apr 2019
In line with its digital transformation strategy, BBVA has launched a new form of corporate loan, the digital facility (D-Loan), and signed the first ever financing of this kind with Olam International, a leading food and agri-business company headquartered and listed in Singapore. As provider of this innovative solution, BBVA acted as digital advisor and coordinator under the new USD 350 million revolving credit facility. BBVA was also the facility agent for the other 6 banks that participate in the financing.
Digital loans (or D-loans) are a type of corporate bank financing (which could also come in the form of credit facilities) for which the price is linked to the company’s degree of digitization. The digital maturity level is determined annually by specialized independent consulting firms after a thorough analysis. If the company improves its level of digitization, the conditions of the bank financing also improve. By doing so, the company aligns its financial instruments with its corporate strategy, and has a financial incentive to improve its degree of digitization and accelerate its digital transformation over time.
28 Mar 2019
Sustainability
BBVA coordinates Iberdrola’s first sustainable credit facility aligned with the just transition principles, totalling €1.5 billion
Iberdrola has successfully signed, with BBVA acting as lead arranger and sustainable agent, a new €1.5 billion multi-currency syndicated credit facility linked to sustainability criteria. This is the first transaction aligned with the ‘just transition’ concept, introduced in the Paris Agreement.
26 Mar 2019
BBVA recently structured the first sustainable loan in RCF format in Spain’s hotel industry. The €65 million credit line with Meliá Hotels International is an example of the Balearic group’s commitment to the fight against climate change.
22 Mar 2019
BBVA signs with the French electricity company EDF a €300 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility (RCF) which incorporates a pricing adjustment based on the company’s sustainability performance linked to CO2 emissions and energy efficiency.
07 Mar 2019
Financial and commercial services
BBVA Compass bolsters California presence by naming James Ligman as its Orange County City President
BBVA Compass has named banking industry veteran James Ligman as its Orange County City President, bolstering the bank’s California presence by promoting from within.
04 Mar 2019
Sustainable Development Goals
With the support of BBVA, Gestamp closes its first sustainable line of credit
BBVA and Gestamp have restructured an existing €280 million revolving credit facility, changing the terms so it qualifies as a sustainable operation and increasing the total value to €325 million. With this operation, the multi-national engineering company dedicated to the design, development, and manufacturing of metal components for the automotive industry becomes the first in its sector to be certified by the environmental consulting firm Vigeo-Eiris for closing a financing deal of this kind. BBVA acted as the deal’s sustainability coordinator.
02 Oct 2018
This open-source blockchain platform has made its way into different sectors of the economy and aims to become the blockchain technology standard in the world of business. BBVA is an official member of the Hyperledger consortium and has used its technological platform to manage blockchain-powered corporate loans.
10 Sep 2018
Advances in technology contribute to economic progress and have a direct, long-term impact on society’s well-being. Clearly, digital transformation creates opportunities that improve both our lives and our businesses. BBVA shares this view: the bank has made a commitment to new technologies such as blockchain, which allow it to offer innovative financing approaches to its corporate clients.
31 Aug 2018
Last year, a product that had been practically unheard of took the world of corporate financing by storm: green loans. These are loans aimed at advancing environmental sustainability and until quite recently came under the umbrella of Green Bond Principles. As of a few months ago they now have their own guidelines known as Green Loan Principles.
19 Jul 2018
Having successfully carried out the first pilots in the world of a loan and a corporate credit facility using blockchain, BBVA has signed a new loan with ACS using this technology. The deal shows that BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking is continuing to focus on an innovative financing model for its corporate clients.
18 Jul 2018
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.
26 Apr 2018
BBVA has successfully completed the first global corporate loan transaction using blockchain technology from the negotiation of the deal to its signing, in line with their close collaboration to leverage cutting-edge technologies to streamline business processes.
20 Apr 2018
BBVA has signed a $400-million-dollar green loan with Iberdrola, the first green corporate loan to be formalized in Latin America. This reasserts BBVA’s commitment to sustainable financing by supporting the development and implementation of financial products in the green format.
29 Jan 2018
Iberdrola has signed two new sustainable syndicated loans for a total of 5.3 billion euros, the largest ever signed globally. BBVA has led these transactions by acting as a sustainable agent.
21 Dec 2017
High social impact products
BBVA supports Red Eléctrica de España in obtaining its first green credit facility
BBVA has acted as a Green Agent for a green credit in the amount of 800 million euros for Red Eléctrica España S.A. (“REE”). This is the first syndicated green revolving credit facility in Spain, and also the first of its kind in the electric utilities sector.
11 Oct 2017
Press release
BBVA Compass becomes largest investor in loan fund for small businesses in Appalachian Alabama
BBVA Compass has closed a $5 million equity investment in Pathway Lending, becoming the largest investor in Alabama’s effort to build up small businesses in the state’s Appalachian region. Pathway Lending, a Community Development Financial Institution certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury, will operate the state’s new loan fund for small businesses in the 37 counties of Appalachian Alabama.
26 Sep 2017
Corporate Responsibility
BBVA will implement the recommendations on financing and climate change promoted by the G20
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.
12 Sep 2017
BBVA has acted as Green Loan Coordinator of a €176 million green loan granted to Sociedade Concesionaria Novo Hospital de Vigo S.A., the concessionaire responsible for non-hospital services at the instititution, which has been renamed Hospital Álvaro Cunqueiro. Servizo Galego de Saúde, Galicia’s healthcare service, awarded the 25-year construction and operation to the concessionaire, a consortium formed by Acciona, Grupo Puentes, Veolia España and Concesia.
31 Jul 2017
Entrepreneurs seeking to launch or expand their enterprise may experience big success for their small business when it’s built with a set of prime financial tools. According to BBVA Compass Director of Small Business Product Solutions Lance Gibson, while needs differ from business to business, there are some financial tools that are essential when it comes to starting or growing a small business.
BBVA has signed a 240 million euro sustainable loan in favor of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, the first loan of this kind granted by the bank to an autonomous region in Spain.
20 Jun 2017
Financial and commercial services
BBVA Compass' commercial and corporate banking operations boast global resources, local expertise
A bevy of recent awards and recognitions for BBVA Compass has shined the spotlight on the bank’s Corporate, Commercial and Small Business operations, highlighting the bank’s elite solutions for its wide range of clients.
07 Jun 2017
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.
20 Apr 2017
In April, BBVA signed a $100 million green loan agreement with Acciona to partially fund solar and wind projects in Chile. This is the second-ever green loan secured by a Spanish company; both have been made by BBVA.
20 Feb 2017
BBVA closed 2016 with an excellent achievement in terms of its loan business. The Bank acted as Bookrunner (the top role of any institution in a syndicated operation) in 60% of the transactions in which it was involved. Also, it increased its market share from 8.2% in 2015 to 14.8% in 2016.
16 Feb 2017
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.