BBVA’s Group Executive Chairman is convinced that, to tackle the enormous environmental, social and technological challenges that climate change poses, the social role of banks needs to completely change. “We need to reimagine the role of banking,” said Francisco González a few days ago, during the BBVA Sustainable Finance Forum event.

Mª Ángeles Peláez, Head of Group Financial Accounting at BBVA, underscored the importance of the role of the expert accountant in correctly interpreting the wording of regulations in an environment of constant regulatory change. This was one of the subjects debated at the workshop on Standardization and Accounting Law organized by the Spanish Association of Accounting and Business Administration (AECA) at BBVA’s headquarters in Madrid.

Drawing on its skills, knowledge and experience as one of the most active banks in the sustainable finance sector, BBVA has been selected by Hera to help in the structuring and execution of the first RFC (revolving credit facility) loan in Italy. This is the first sustainable operation of these characteristics in the country. BBVA has acted as the sustainable agent, leading the operation valued at €200 million.

Of the tax revenue paid by Europeans, only one euro per taxpayer is used to finance the EU’s budget. In total, the EU manages a budget of about 1% of the gross national income of its member states. Nonetheless, how this money is invested directly impacts Europeans’ lives; it is therefore of interest to understand the EU budget as of 2021, the first spending plan after the UK’s exit from the EU.

BBVA opened its headquarters in Madrid to welcome investors, business leaders, public and private institutions and the media, to an event aimed at promoting sustainable development and the fight against climate change. During the first edition of the ‘BBVA Sustainable Finance Forum,’ Group Executive Chairman Francisco González explained the reason for the meeting: “Banks need to help customers drive sustainable development and transition towards a low-carbon economy. At BBVA, we want to be the catalysts of this change.” Francisco González opened the event alongside Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, Vice-President of the Government of Spain.

BBVA Compass in April announced a new addition to its Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) benefit, Rethink, an award-winning program that provides support to parents raising children with learning and behavioral challenges, or developmental disabilities.

The ‘BBVA Latin America Conference’, held on May 2 and 3 in New York, is a yearly event hosted by BBVA that brings together public and private Latin American debt issuers and North American investors. In this year’s edition of the conference —the eighth— BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila, and BBVA Global head of Customer Solutions Derek White were some of the prominent figures who took the floor to share their insights into pivotal issues such as investments in Latin America, sustainable finance and banking innovation.

Imagine a Spanish SME asking for a loan in Germany; an Italian easily transferring money to Portugal or a French person taking on a mortgage in the Netherlands.   All of this forms part of the fledgling European capital markets and banking union. What remains to be done? BBVA is one of the few European banks to address these issues at the joint conference of the European Commission and the European Central bank held today in Frankfurt.

BBVA today tapped the markets, issuing the largest ever green bond (€1 billion) by a eurozone financial institution. The 7-year non-preferred senior green bond makes BBVA the first Spanish bank to issue such debt instrument. High demand -three times higher than the bond’s value– allowed it to lower the price to mid-swap plus 80 basis points.

The consultancy Accenture analyzes the inroads made by big tech in the financial sector and identifies five key steps banks need to take to create value in the face of advances made by fintech companies. BBVA’s focus on open banking and transformation in the digital era has been acknowledged by a number of institutions.