BBVA’s Shanghai branch has closed its first corporate loan in the Chinese currency renminbi (RMB) with Toyota Motor Finance China. The loan is a short term working capital loan to support Toyota’s corporate activity in the country. The transaction represents an important milestone for BBVA as it is the first one that the bank executes in the local currency after obtaining its renminbi licence in China.

Asia has become the world’s fastest growing economic region of the 21st century and currently plays a critical role in the global supply chain. According to figures provided by BBVA Research, between 2011 and 2021 the region generated 60 percent of global economic growth and one in every two million dollars of investment. And this contribution is expected to increase to 65 percent between 2017 and 2027. This growing trend is driving the global presence of Asian multinational companies as well as the expansion of global multinationals into Asia, where 43 percent of the 5,000 largest companies of this type are currently present. The region represents an important export center and a very attractive domestic market.

BBVA’s Quantitative Investment Strategies business, geared toward institutional investors, has completed its first family of indexes specialized in sustainability. In addition to the  indexes that were previously announced, two more are joining the family: ‘Solactive BBVA ixS Global Inclusive Growth’ and ‘Solactive BBVA ixG Global Governance & Board Diversity’. These indexes make it possible to invest in high growth global companies that are aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and in leading global companies in corporate governance, respectively.

Global Finance recognized BBVA as the world’s best investment bank for sustainable finance at the latest edition of its awards ‘Best Investment Bank Awards 2021’. A global recognition that joins the bank’s other awards for the best equity bank in Western Europe and the best investment bank in Argentina, Spain and Turkey.

BBVA expands its market activity with ‘Quantitative Investment Strategies’ (QIS), a business which focuses on the design, manufacturing and distribution of investment strategies that materialize in self-created indices intended for end investors. The organization will debut this new line of business with the launch of its first index ‘Solactive BBVA ixESG Global Leaders Index’.

Green, social and sustainable bonds have been growing exponentially in recent years. This year in particular, social and sustainable bonds are playing a fundamental role in companies and the markets due to the COVID-19 health crisis. The team at BBVA Global Markets Research is constantly analyzing this market. This is a summary of the latest news you need to know to stay up to date on this ever-changing financial product.

BBVA, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Bloomberg, has developed a new cloud-based technology for the equity markets area of its Corporate & Investment Banking unit. The bank has created ‘BBVA C-fit’, a platform built around AWS and Bloomberg technologies, to provide its equity trading team with one of the most cutting edge platforms available in the financial markets sector.

BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) has decided to boost its equities capability for corporate clients, issuers and institutional clients along two vectors: on one hand, developing its equity investment products factory and digital platforms for product distribution; and, on the other, expanding its ECM (Equity Capital Markets) execution capabilities through a strategic alliance with Oddo BHF, one of Europe’s leading equity research and distribution entities.

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.

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.

BBVA and the Korean energy company, SK Innovation, have signed a working capital loan of €100 million to expand the company’s electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities in Europe. This transaction is the first working capital loan certified by BBVA in Asia in compliance with its sustainable transaction banking framework.

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.

The prestigious international magazine Euromoney named BBVA the best investment bank in Spain in 2020. The bank also received the title of the best bank in Latin America and repeated as the best bank for sustainable finance in the region. BBVA was also selected as the best bank in Argentina and Mexico.

BBVA has closed with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), one of the leading global investors in renewable energy, a green loan, long-term project financing credit facility for the investment in the Monegros portfolio of 12 onshore wind farms in Aragon, Spain. BBVA has had all significant roles, including sole bookrunner, structuring bank and green loan coordinator in this transaction amounting to a total of EUR 380m. Apart from BBVA, the final club deal group was composed of five other European banks.

Growing interest in sustainability across all segments of society has led to innovations in sustainable finance offerings, specifically in the world of corporate financing. Issuances of bonds linked to sustainability criteria are among the latest market developments. Analysts at BBVA Global Markets Research explain the basics and share with us their view of the product.

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.

BBVA’s teams in Asia and Colombia secured this cross-border transaction, which will allow Asian client China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) to build, operate and service line 1 of the Bogota subway. The landmark agreement will contribute to financing the largest infrastructure project in Colombia’s history, and is also the most ambitious cooperation project the country’s ever signed with China. The transaction is the first one certified by BBVA in Asia in compliance with its sustainable transactional banking framework.

BBVA, in partnership FinIQ, a market leading fintech company, is announcing the launch of BBVA epricer, a website for its equities and credit linked structured products. The website is designed to help professionals structure and obtain prices for equity and credit linked investment products that aim to either provide an enhanced yield or exposure to the underlying investment. In the current environment, where remote work has become the new normal, the website provides a digital channel for BBVA clients to request from the simplest to the most exotic investment proposals.

Social bonds, as debt instruments that enable project financing with a positive social impact, have been gaining traction among issuers in recent years. In 2019, these kinds of issuances outpaced previous volume records, and issuance activity of this type will undoubtedly be driven by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This is the view of analysts at BBVA Global Markets Research.

BBVA acted as the sole advisory bank and bookrunner in the issue of the bond, Spain’s first in support of the public health system and to combat the COVID -19 outbreak. The bond, issued by the Community of Madrid, was entirely by Spanish insurer MAPFRE, will be the underlying asset of MAPFRE Compromiso Sanitario, the three-year asset-backed fund announced earlier this week by MAPFRE AM.

With a newly updated version of Global Net Cash, BBVA takes another step forward in the digital transformation of banking for global businesses and institutions. In the current context, BBVA recommends more than ever the use of digital channels and joins the challenge #iwillstayathome. The bank is delivering important improvements to its online banking solution, incorporating new features that will provide users with easier, more intuitive access to data with a unique digital experience, and all this in real time.

It is the first international sustainable supply chain finance line (a product also known as confirming or reverse factoring) set up by Acciona, a leader in providing sustainable solutions for infrastructure and renewable energy projects. The €15 million line will be used to streamline payments to suppliers in the ‘Ness Energy Project’, a waste-to-power plant in Scotland. As a result, a total of 25 European suppliers will benefit from the early collection of the receivables they issue in consideration for services rendered to this infrastructure.

As part of his tour across all regions and business areas, BBVA CEO Onur Genç met in Madrid with the team of the bank’s wholesale banking area, Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB). Genç had the opportunity to review the priorities of the business units and wholesale banking products that comprise this area of the bank.

BBVA stood out at the “Global Finance Best Investment Bank Awards” for yet another year. With 33 years of experience reporting on international financial markets and readers in more than 180 countries, the magazine presented the bank seven awards in different locations in recognition of BBVA’s capacity in investment banking and sustainable finance products and solutions.

BBVA has certified as green three non-recourse factoring operations from the wind turbine manufacturer Nordex. Closed in 2019 for approximately €265 million, the operations will deduct invoices from wind turbine supplies that the Germany company will provide the builder of various wind farms.

MAPFRE has strengthened its life-savings insurance product portfolio with the launch of Unit Linked Valor Activo III. The product is linked to the performance of the Eurostoxx index and to a BBVA social bond. The bank will devote the proceeds to fund social projects. With this new operation, BBVA is supporting the Spanish insurance company’s efforts in broadening its sustainable commercial offering.

The 2019 syndicated loan market in Spain remained stable compared to 2018, primarily due to available liquidity —from banks and and institutional investors— in an environment of historically low interest rates. In addition, the European Central Bank has has all but ensured that interest rates will continue to hover in negative territory, given expectations for inflation over the next three years.