Fintech news went the way of regulation both on a global and national scale this week. One constant is the rise in funding, which saw a spike in the last quarter.

In 2015, the ECB launched its Bank’s Integrated Reporting Dictionary, or BIRD, a project ultimately intended to organize the data that it gathers from EU financial institutions for its statistical area. This project is part of a broader strategic approach aimed at improving the system that banks and other players use to report statistics to the European supervisor, known as IReF (Integrated Reporting Framework). BIRD is one of the pivotal milestones in the list of achievements by the Statistical area of the ECB. And just as the rest of the organization, BIRD is celebrating its anniversary.

Specialized magazine Euromoney names BBVA Bancomer “Best Bank in Mexico” for second year in a row, and “Best Investment Bank.”

On the back of increased web attacks, the priority of cybersecurity has increased for businesses and banks worldwide. How do financial institutions balance this risk with the need to expand their digital services?

BBVA today tapped the markets, issuing the largest ever green bond (€1 billion) by a eurozone financial institution. The 7-year non-preferred senior green bond makes BBVA the first Spanish bank to issue such debt instrument. High demand -three times higher than the bond’s value– allowed it to lower the price to mid-swap plus 80 basis points.

Born in Chantada (Lugo), Spain, in 1944.

Graduated in Economic and Business Sciences from Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

In a strong show of support Wednesday, the Senate passed a bipartisan financial regulatory reform bill by a favorable vote of 67-31.

The bill, S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, includes an easing of regulations particularly for small banks, community lenders and regional banks and is widely seen as the most significant revision to financial rules since the sweeping regulatory reform known as Dodd-Frank was passed in the wake of the financial meltdown in 2010.

BBVA has presented the case of its digital transformation at the 13th Asia-Pacific High Level Meeting on Banking, held in Singapore. José Manuel González-Páramo explained BBVA’s digital business model to representatives of Asia’s most important central banks and financial institutions. He also discussed some of the regulatory challenges the region is facing, noting the need for international coordination on digital regulation in the financial sector.

A report by Standard and Poor’s Global (S&P) analyzes the potential impact on the financial sector of the entry of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. Although no immediate changes to bank ratings is foreseen, the report points out that in the long term these companies are well placed to get a position  in segments of the chain such as payment systems.

On January 31st, the European Banking Authority (EBA) announced the formal launch of this year’s EU-wide stress test exercise of the euro area. It also unveiled the macroeconomic scenarios under which the exercise will be carried out. The  adverse scenario implies a deviation of EU GDP from its baseline level by 8.3% in 2020, resulting in the most severe scenario to date. The EBA expects to publish the results of the exercise by 2 November 2018

Since it was launched in 2016, the FCA’s regulatory sandbox has supported 60 firms to test their innovation with real customers in the live market under controlled conditions. Now, it is assessing different options to scale up the model at global level to solve the challenges of operating internationally in the fintech market.

BBVA took part in the first seminar organized by the Institute of Compliance Officers (IOC).  Executives of Spanish multinationals addressed the main challenges facing the profession in applying current regulations within a company. They underscored the fundamental role of the compliance officer in companies committed to transparency and good corporate governance.

Market analysts reported positively on BBVA’s 2017 results. The majority pointed to the solid underlying trends, the strength of recurring revenues and cost containment as the key drivers of the bank’s solid performance.

BBVA is committed to working with the fintech community in a way that delivers real benefits for the start-ups, the bank and of course customers and clients.

Alternative finance keeps gaining traction in Europe and Spain is no exception. By volume of activity —and excluding the UK— Spain ranks fifth in the European Union for the fourth consecutive year in this segment, behind France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. In 2016, Spain’s alternative finance sector grew by 162%, to €131 million.

Today marks the second anniversary of death of David Bowie, a pop icon who needs no introduction. Hundreds of lines have been written about his life, career and concerts. But what many are not aware of is that Bowie was also a pioneer in the financial world: he was the first artist ever to issue a “celebrity bond.”

The beginning of the normalization of monetary policy in 2018 should bring greater profitability for banks, a larger investor appetite and a positive outlook for the stock market. However, what is perhaps more important, the new policy will enable banks to meet one of their principal goals: supporting economic growth by financing companies and private individuals.

What is the future of fintech? A group of experts recently met in the European Parliamentary Financial Services Forum (EPFSF) to discuss the European Fintech Action Plan. The meeting brought together about 60 representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission, consumer groups and the financial industry. BBVA was represented by Alvaro Martín, Head Economist for Digital Regulation at BBVA Research.

The debate revolved around the following questions:

Customer experience, the new business models and investment in social commitment are the three opportunities for the banking industry, as it seeks to maintain a relevant role in society. “Investing in social sustainability is part of the banking industry’s responsibility,” said José Manuel González-Páramo, BBVA’s Executive Director and Head of Economy, Regulation and Institutional Relations, during the event entitled XIII Banking Industry Meeting organized by IESE (13th Meeting of the Banking Sector, organized by IESE) in Madrid.

BBVA Group Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Rafael Salinas analyzed the challenges of digital transformation and the rapid evolution of technological developments in risk management at the event entitled ‘CRO Forum,  Rethinking Risk Management’ organized in Amsterdam by RiskMinds International.

BBVA Francés is fully immersed in its transformation to digital banking. This year, the bank moved into a modern tower in Buenos Aires, where it is growing as a company, both culturally and in terms of teamwork. Customer experience is setting the pace of change towards a mobile future. For CEO Martín Zarich, the customer experience sets the pace towards a changeable future. In his opinion: “the moment is now, not in five years’ time”.

Garanti Bank on November 22 has successfully refinanced its 367-day Dual Currency Term Loan Facility dated November 23, 2016 with a 100% rollover ratio. The new Facility is comprised of $405.0 million and €648.5 million 367-day tranches and a $180.0 million two-year tranche.

Regulators and supervisors are facing an enormous challenge: how to deal with digital innovation in banking. According to BBVA’s Head of Regulation, José Manuel González-Páramo, the three main short-term challenges are establishing a level playing field, creating regulatory sandboxes and guaranteeing cybersecurity.

The European Commission has published regulatory technical standards (RTS) that are part of the Payment Services Directive, or PSD2. The standards ensure greater security when paying for goods and services in Europe, as well as for third party access to bank customers’ data.

One of the biggest financial stories of 2018 will be the entry into force of the European Union’s Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2). For customers, the measure will mean faster, simpler and more secure digital payments. And for banks and the fintech ecosystem, it presents a great opportunity.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and BBVA have joined forces to help provide Spanish SMEs the funding they need to implement their digitization and innovation strategies. EIB Vice President Román Escolano, and the Head of BBVA Spain, Cristina de Parias, signed an agreement today in Madrid through which the EIB will provide BBVA €150 million to finance SME investment projects related to innovation and digitization. BBVA will provide an additional €150 million of its own resources to fund this new line of credit.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has just published the list of Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) for 2017.  The number of institutions remains the same, but with three significant changes. Systemic banks have a major impact on the economy, but what makes them different from the rest?

Near Field Communication (NFC) technology enables wireless communication between two electronic devices that are close to each other. This form of data exchange is not new – it first began to be used in 2002, although it wasn’t until 2016 and 2017 that many brands, banks and organizations included it in their business models. This has led to major advances in contactless and mobile payment methods, based on this technology.

Banks and fintechs should compete on the same playing field, and this poses a great challenge to financial supervision and regulation. Santiago Fernández de Lis, Chief Economist, Financial Systems and Regulation at BBVA Research, in a recent report entitled Fintech: Key Regulatory Challenges reviews the regulatory priorities posed by the digital disruption of financial services. In his opinion, the focus of policy for regulating fintech companies should be to build “a level playing field for all providers to properly address the risks and guarantee fair competition.”

The “Powerlist” celebrates the contributions and talent of women from different business areas who are shaping the future of the fintech sector.  This year, the list includes four women from BBVA who play a significant role in the bank’s strategy.

The Bilbao headquarters of BBVA was one of the stops on a tour of Spain by future U.S. leaders. BBVA is the only Spanish financial institution involved in the “U.S. Young Leaders” program, which was launched in 2000 by Fundación Consejo España-Estados Unidos and the US-Spain Council.

The European Union’s banking and medicine agencies are moving. This is one of the direct consequences of the United Kingdom’s approaching departure from the European Union (Brexit). On Monday, November 20th, the 27 member states will vote on which European cities will be the new home of these two agencies.

BBVA backed Atom Bank has been named as one of the world’s top ten fintech firms for the third time in a row.

The BBVA Group’s activity in the capital markets during 2017 has been nothing less than brilliant after having completed its latest issue of CoCo bonds in November.  During 2018, BBVA hopes to refinance the maturities of issues that are not eligible under EU norms, with Senior Non-Preferred debt. You can find all the information in the latest fixed income presentation.

The BBVA Group takes another step forward in its digital transformation and in improving customer experience, with a new website for shareholders and investors. The site includes new content and the latest trends in browsing, and is accessible from any mobile device.

One of the things about huge conferences like Money 20/20 in Las Vegas is that you get to see the ideas that will shape the future of the banking sector.

Latin America will be one of the leaders of the global economy. The digital transformation has been one of the keys to this reduction in poverty and improvement in social indicators. But how has it helped? One example is digital financial inclusion.

The European Commission (EC) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) have published their work plans for 2018. The documents describe the specific activities and tasks the organizations plan to carry out next year. Both proposals place increasing importance on the fintech sector, since it could bring about a radical change the financial industry.

What is bitcoin? What do the terms node, mining and hash mean? Following are the 10 key terms from the world of blockchain technology that you need to master.

A recent report by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international organization made up of national and regional banking supervisors, sets forth the need for financial stability regulations to expand their scope of action into areas such as Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

The use of cash as method of payment has been declining in recent years, in favor of digital methods and credit cards. Last month we saw another example in the Hawkers sunglass brand, which will not be accepting cash payments in its new Madrid store.

The finance industry will survive the disruption in the sector, but only a few banks will be able to offer the best customer experience, adapt to the new ecosystem and successfully achieve their digital transformation. “Competition with the fintech companies makes us better and stronger,” said José Manuel González-Páramo, BBVA’s Executive Member of the Board, Head of Global Economics, Regulation and Public Affairs, during the European Central Bank´s Forum on Banking Supervision.

The European Commission has withdrawn its proposal for Banking Structural Reform. Although originally considered fundamental for the sector, its principal objectives have already been addressed by other measures. How should this news be taken? In a recent note, BBVA Research considers this withdrawal —after four years without much progress— to be positive, since it supposes greater regulatory certainty for banks. The BBVA Research note also underscores the negotiation of two large regulatory packages: i) the revision of the prudential banking and resolution framework for European credit institutions and ii) the finalization of the Basil III framework.

Market analysts have given positive reviews to BBVA’s third quarter 2017 results, which in many cases surpassed prior forecasts. In their reports, the analysts underscored the performance of expenditures and provisions below forecasts. BBVA´s businesses in Spain, Turkey and South America all surprised analysts with their good performance. 

Every quarter, BBVA rolls out new products and functionalities, delivering new amazing experiences for its mobile and online customers to enjoy. By year end, the bank expects that about 92% of its current product portfolio will be available on its digital channels in Spain, as well as to be able to continue making progress in its other franchises. BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila explained how this effort is having an “impressive impact”, as evidenced by the exponential rate at which digital sales are growing. Digital sales account for about one fourth of the bank’s total, with more than 3.5 million units sold between July and September.

These are the ratios that show up the financial position of a bank. This is a disclosure of BBVA’s ratios calculated as of September 2017.

Today BBVA announced financial results for the nine first months of 2017. “Quarter after quarter, BBVA keeps posting solid, recurring and sustainable results,” said CEO Carlos Torres Vila. What figures explain this solidity? Here are the six more noteworthy:

• Operating income: Recurring revenues continued their upward trend, growing 4.2% between January and September. This, together with cost containment efforts (expenses dropped 1.7% in the year to September), drove operating income to a record €9.52 billion
• Risks: The NPL ratio continued to improve, reaching 4.5% in September (vs. 4.8% in June), the lowest level in the past five years. Coverage increased to 72%
• Capital: The fully-loaded CET1 ratio rose to 11.2% in September, reflecting a capital generation of 30 basis points in the first nine months of the year
• Transformation: The digital customer base grew 24% y-o-y to 21.1 million in September. Of these, the number of customers banking with their smartphones surged 43% to 15.8 million