In a scenario of political and economic uncertainties and amid external shocks mainly caused by U.S. protectionism and China, the recovery of the Latin American economy continues apace, with growth expected to gradually accelerate and reach a forecast 2.1 percent in 2019 (Source: BBVA Research).

BBVA has announced it is part of the consortium of corporate businesses and banks taking part in a new initiative by SWIFT aimed at speeding up cross border transactions.

BBVA Bancomer today completed the settlement of an interest-rate swap denominated in Mexican pesos, making it the first Mexican bank to settle transactions through the global clearance house LCH. BBVA SA in Madrid acted as the settling entity.

Alexis Thompson, Head of Global Securities Services at BBVA, explains what the securities services business within the investment banking sector consists of, what clients expect and what tasks it carries out.

The way large corporations and institutional entities manage their finances has changed dramatically over the last decade and transaction banking has played a very important role in this transformation, as a result of both the boost given to the activity and the improvement of the relationship model with customers. The transformation was also affected by the recent financial crisis and has been enabled, to a large extent, by the use of new technologies.

What is transaction banking? It is the side of banking that addresses the operational needs and day-to-day transactions of business, corporate and institutional customers. It also provides cash management services where the short-term management of a company’s liquidity is a key, using instruments and services designed for the management of incoming and outgoing cash flows, international commerce, and asset management.

What is treasury management? For business owners and operators, this is a key term that could shed light on how your business needs to operate to succeed.

When it comes to moving money, speed is of the essence. One of the clearest – yet invisible – obstructions to money movement is a national border. Every time a transaction must cross a border, it encounters a number of points of friction that slow it down. These can be currency exchange, platform changes, new settlement rules, or more.

The headlines about the U.S. dollar this year have underscored how complicated it is to predict the movement of any one currency in a global economy. They’ve gone from grim (“Dollar set for worst January in 30 years”) to triumphant (“Dollar claws back”) to deflated (“Dollar’s rebound fizzles”) in a matter of weeks.

BBVA Compass’ longstanding relationship with Christie’s Auction House will hit another year when the first event of 2018 will be held in Houston on January 31.

Positive connotations saturate the word “complimentary”, and for good reason. For people who utilize BBVA Compass’ Global Wealth Client Program, “complimentary” takes the form of a multiple benefits for BBVA Compass Global Wealth clients.

Garanti Bank, signed a three-year credit agreement worth $250 million with ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited) with the coordination of ICBC Turkey Bank A.Ş. The agreement has been the first credit cooperation by Garanti with ICBC. Garanti will be using this amount for the funding of general corporate operations and foreign trade.

Garanti Bank was selected as the Best Retail Bank in Turkey in 2017 by World Finance Magazine, one of the world’s most prestigious business publications. This marks the third consecutive year that Garanti has won this award, making it the first Turkish bank ever to do so.

Garanti Bank, always focused on facilitating its customers’ lives with its approach of delivering innovative products and services, has launched a new service model with the aim of offering an all-around excellent banking experience. Within the scope of Garanti’s service model, which represents a new era in the Turkish banking sector, all Garanti branches are evolving into an innovative structure built on digitalization where the customers are able to benefit from all kinds of services in a one-stop banking system in the fastest and easiest manner.

Ricardo Gómez Barredo, Director of Accounting & Supervisors at BBVA, indicated that “the first country that manages to balance the power of the bank regulators will be the most attractive to potential investors,” at the workshop “Madrid the financial center” last Friday. In the context of Brexit, the Spanish financial system should make the regulatory framework less complex in order to become an attractive destination for international banks.

We have experienced the deepest global crisis since the Great Depression. Among the things that have changed – perhaps for good – is the way the financial sector now acts at  a global level to manage both credit and reputational risk. This has coincided with what amounts to a genuine explosion in technology, which has undoubtedly only just begun.

Nearly 200 BBVA employees, from both global and local teams, met on March 21st in Madrid for the Second Global Quarterly Planning Session. The goal of the event was to expedite the execution of the products and services the bank is developing, converting them into customer experiences. Global Executive Chairman Francisco González participated in the session, indicating that “BBVA has a unique opportunity to be one of the big ‘players” in the global financial system.

BBVA became a founding member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) today. This new international initiative seeks to share best practices and create standards and reference architectures based on the Ethereum platform, taking advantage of the benefits blockchain technology can offer the corporate world.

Due to a series of particularities, the Chinese market has risen as the role model in mobile payments adoption. Western economies have a lot to learn about a market that is valued at over $2.3 trillion.

Collaborative Competition – ‘coopetition’ for short – is a term that has been floating around the Fintech and financial services scene for a few years now.

Global Finance has chosen the BBVA Group as the winner of five awards during the latest issue of its “World’s Best Treasury & Cash Management Banks and Providers Awards”. Specifically, the Group was given the following awards: “Best Treasury & Cash Management Provider” in Spain, “Best Overall Bank for Cash Management” in Latin America, “Best Bank for Payments and Collections” in Latin America, “Best US regional middle market Treasury & Cash Management Provider” in Southwest Region, and “Best Treasury & Cash Management Provider” for Garanti in Turkey.

Since the start of the Single Euro Payments Area initiative, known as SEPA, it has hit numerous milestones. November 20th will be another important day in this process of adapting to the new payment regulations in Europe.

Smart contracts have been an impossible dream since the 1990s, but now blockchain technology has breathed new life into this concept aimed at automating contractual relations between people or machines without the involvement of a trusted intermediary.

BBVA Compass sponsored the Association of Financial Professional’s solidarity initiative, AFPAware Community Service Day, to package 10,000 lbs. of food and 2,000 care kits that will be distributed to needy families and abuse victims, respectively.

Between 2011 and 2014, 700 million people opened a bank account. In the same period, the number of people outside the banking system fell by 20%, or 2 billion adults. In 2014, 62% of adults held an account, well above the 54% registered in 2011.