BBVA CEO Onur Genç said today that the sale of the U.S. subsidiary is a historic milestone for the bank, and that value creation will continue to be the guiding force in all decisions related to the use of the excess capital from that transaction. “We have a lot of ammunition, a lot of capital” to create value for shareholders, he added. Regarding Turkey, he said that: “We are prepared to manage the risks in emerging markets.”

BBVA has named Patricia Bueno as new Head of Investor & Shareholder relations, within the area of Finance.

Due to its international presence, BBVA has an exchange rate risk hedging policy which is intended to preserve the Group's capital ratios and provide stability to its results.

BBVA's CFO, Jaime Sáenz de Tejada, shared his optimism with international investors regarding the medium-term growth prospects for lending in Spain and Mexico. In Spain, he noted the impact of the EU recovery fund - Next Generation EU- which will expedite the transformation of the production model. The financial sector will be able to amplify its impact through by offering greater financing. As for Mexico, he underscored the positive effect of the new tax stimulus package in the U.S., which will boost remittances and manufacturing activity, along with the new free trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

BBVA today placed a 6-year €1 billion senior preferred debt issue, with maturity in March 2027, and an option for early redemption after five years. Final demand exceeded the initial offer 1.5 times, up to more than €1.5 billion, spread over 125 orders. The interest rate was mid-swap + 52 basis points, below the estimated exit rate of mid-swap + 70-75 basis points.

BBVA has called its Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held virtual-only on April 20th, 2021. With the goal of being able to implement a significant potential share buyback, it will be submitted for approval of the AGM the possibility of reducing the bank’s share capital up to 10 percent - the equivalent of approximately 667 million shares. Additionally, BBVA proposes the re-election of seven board members, whose term ends in 2021. It would thus maintain unchanged the composition of the Group’s highest governing body, which currently has two thirds of independent members and an appropriate balance and diversity in several areas: experience, knowledge and expertise, gender and international representation.

In 2015, the European Parliament passed the new digital payment services directive, more commonly known as PSD2. The directive laid the groundwork for the emergence of the open banking concept: a solution to allow contextualized access to banking services, wherever and whenever needed. The regulatory framework set forth by PSD2 has driven a true transformation of the financial sector itself and changed how financial services are viewed.

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.

Garanti BBVA was recognized as Best Bank for Cash Management in Turkey in 2021 in Global Finance’s annual Best Treasury & Cash Management Banks survey.