The BBVA Group earned €636 million in the first half of the year - more than double the results from January through March, excluding the impact of the goodwill adjustment in the U.S. This was possible thanks to the bank’s efforts to anticipate impairments related to the COVID-19 crisis in the first quarter of the year. In a highly complex context due to the pandemic, the BBVA Group has demonstrated the strength of its profit before provisions in the second quarter of 2020, with operating income up 17.6 percent year-on-year in constant euros. “We are facing this crisis from a position of strength, thanks to the resilience of our revenues, our diversified business model and our digital capabilities. Likewise, our solid capital generation stood out during the quarter,” said BBVA CEO Onur Genç.

Thanks to the bank’s efforts to anticipate impairments related to the COVID-19 in 1Q20, BBVA earned €636 million in the second quarter, doubling the underlying profit from the first quarter. This quarterly figure is on top of extraordinary provisions of €644 million due to the pandemic. In a complex environment, BBVA has once again demonstrated the strength of its operating income, which grew 17.6 percent at constant exchange rates, and its outstanding ability to generate capital. In the first half of the year, net attributable profit excluding one-offs was €928 million (-57.8 percent yoy in constant euros). Including the U.S. goodwill adjustment –recorded in 1Q20– the bank swung to a €-1.16 billion loss between January and June.

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.

If variety is the spice of life, then consider the inaugural BBVA USA Global Wealth Advisory Council a well-seasoned collection of wealth management professionals. A council made up of sales and support professionals in the BBVA USA Global Wealth and BBVA Securities, Inc. teams, the group’s main focus in its first year has been to brainstorm and cultivate unique solutions and collaboratively recommend constructive suggestions for improvement across the board.

For the second time in a week, BBVA is tapping wholesale markets with a debt issue. In this case, it is a subordinated Tier 2 bond in pound sterling, with an 11-year maturity term and a six-year early amortization option. The issue closed raising £300 million at an initial coupon rate of UKT plus a spread of 315, the reference index for this type of issuance. On July 7, BBVA successfully completed the issuance of a €1 billion bond, the first green bond ever in AT1 format by a financial institution at international level.

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.

BBVA successfully launched the first-ever green contingent convertible (CoCo) bond by a financial institution, worth €1 billion. The issue was oversubscribed by almost a factor of three, and the high-quality order book drew 225 orders. Strong interest from investors allowed the company to lower the yield from its initial guidance of 6.5 percent to 6 percent.

Today, a group of 16 major European banks from five countries (Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain) paved the way for the future launch of the European Payments Initiative (EPI).

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and BBVA are set to join forces to support Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps affected by the COVID-19 crisis, signing two agreements to provide total financing of €1.42 billion.

With BBVA set to open 15 new branches across Texas in early 2021, the bank enters a new era that blends digital banking with face-to-face interactions even further.