BBVA Compass Bancshares, Inc., a Sunbelt-based bank holding company (BBVA Compass), reported today net income of $121 million for the first quarter of 2017 compared to $89 million earned during the fourth quarter of 2016 and $39 million earned during the first quarter of 2016. Earnings in the quarter represented a 35 percent increase from the prior quarter and a 208 percent increase from year ago levels. Return on average assets and return on average tangible equity (1) for the first quarter of 2017 were 0.56 percent and 6.28 percent, respectively.

BBVA Group obtained a net attributable profit of €1.2 billion between January and March 2017, up 69% compared to the same period a year earlier (+79.2% in constant terms) and the highest of the past seven quarters. Net attributable profit grew across all business areas in y-o-y terms. The solid performance of income, moderation in operating expenses and a drop in impairment losses on financial assets are the main factors that underpinned this growth.

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

– Income: Recurring revenues and NTI results drove gross income up by double-digit y-o-y rates (+10.3%, +15% in constant terms). This, combined with cost containment efforts, helped to further improve the efficiency ratio below 50%

-Risks: The Group’s NPL ratio stood at 4.8% at the end of the quarter, compared to 4.9% in December; coverage increased slightly to 71%

-Capital: BBVA achieved a fully-loaded CET1 ratio of 11.01%, in line with the goal for 2017, gaining 11 basis points in the quarter

-Transformation: As of the end of March, BBVA’s digital customer base came to 19.3 million (+20% y-o-y). Of these, 13.5 million were mobile customers (+41%)

BBVA Compass was recognized by the Small Business Administration with two awards recently, highlighting more achievements for the bank in its commitment to entrepreneurship.

Following the urgent measures adopted by Franco’s government to expedite the reconstruction of the economy, the Ministry of Finance redoubled its efforts to strengthen its grip over the banking sector.  On the last day of 1946, a new banking law was passed, outlining the new scenario in which institutions would be required to operate during the next decade.

In April, BBVA signed a $100 million green loan agreement with Acciona to partially fund solar and wind projects in Chile. This is the second-ever green loan secured by a Spanish company; both have been made by BBVA.

BBVA is the third most transparent company on Spain´s benchmark IBEX 35 index, according to “Contribution and Transparency 2016,” a report published by the Fundación Compromiso y Transparencia (Commitment and Transparency Foundation).

The European Commission is currently seeking to answer this and many other questions that citizens have posed about retail financial services. In 2015, the Commission launched a public consultation that is set out in a document containing requests from citizens, presented by the European Parliament at the close of 2016. The next step was the publication of the Consumer Financial Services Action Plan: Better Products, More Choice, with specific proposals for eliminating the barriers to retail banking in Europe.