In an interview with ‘La Linterna’ de COPE, BBVA’s Group Executive Chairman said that the EU funds to face the health crisis represent “a great opportunity”. In his opinion, if invested “productively in long-term growth and combined in combination with structural reforms”, they can help tackle key problems of the Spanish economy, such as structural unemployment. “We also need to invest in education, focusing on the world of the future: the digital world, the world of data and addressing the transition to a more sustainable world, socially and environmentally.”

In a presentation for investors organized by Bank of America (BoFA) and in which BBVA CEO took part this morning, BBVA raised the Group’s guidance for 2020, thanks mostly to an improvement in its business activity in Mexico. At Group level, recurring revenues in constant euros will grow in 2H20 compared to the previous half of the year thanks to a recovery in new retail loan production and focus on price management. Furthermore, BBVA expects to beat its expectations regarding cost reductions for 2020, and improves its cost of risk expectations for 2020, to a range between 1.5 and 1.6 percent in cumulative terms for the year, thanks to a better performance in Mexico. The Group plans to close 2020 with a fully-loaded CET1 capital ratio above the target range. BBVA’s intention is to resume dividend payments once the existing supervisory recommendation is eliminated and COVID-19 uncertainties dissipate.

Last week, the BBVA USA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness Series detailed  the PPP lender’s responsibilities, which can be found here. The second part of the bank’s PPP forgiveness webinar provided an overview of the borrower’s responsibilities and this article highlights some of the borrower’s responsibilities.

On May 25, 2020, the General Data Protection Regulation celebrated its second year of entry into application. As envisaged in the standard itself, the European Commission performed an assessment on its application and functioning over this period of time, taking into account the feedback provided by associations, companies, consumers and EU institutions. The commission has finally released the corresponding findings, which concludes that, on top of having a very positive impact, the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that the Regulation is prepared for the new digital age

When the PPP launched earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty painted the quickly-changing small business landscape. That uncertainty still lingers now that the program’s narrative has shifted to the forgiveness phase.

BBVA Mexico reports that it successfully concluded the issuing of $500 million of unsecured senior notes in international markets, with a five year maturity and an interest rate of 1.875 percent.

Speaking at IIF Digital Interchange meeting, BBVA Group Executive Chairman Carlos Torres Vila said that the lockdown as a result of the pandemic boosted pre-existing trends toward the adoption of new technologies, towards digital. In his opinion, digital inclusion suppports all types of inclusion: educational, social and economic. That is why society needs to make an effort to ensure that no one’s left behind. “I think what stands out is the need for a more sustainable and a more inclusive economy. For this, we need a policy and regulatory environment that fosters innovation,” he noted.

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.