Türkiye's Garanti BBVA recently launched a redesigned website, with a simpler and more user-friendly interface and enhanced user experience. The bank's website is one of the most used channels for customers to get useful information.

BBVA will execute the final tranche of its share buyback program for a maximum amount of €1 billion, starting on July 1, 2022. The Group also announced that it will apply hyperinflationary accounting in Türkiye, effective January 1, 2022. Finally BBVA reaffirms its financial goals for 2024.

BBVA Mexico announced the placement of its first sustainable bond for 10 billion pesos (approximately €470 million). It is the first sustainable bond issued by a privately-owned bank in Mexico, using the TIIE  (Interbank Equilibrium Interest Rate) as a benchmark rate.

The strategic agreement with Genesys®, a leader in cloud customer experience orchestration, is enabling BBVA to introduce the advantages of cloud computing in its centers in Spain and Latin America. Both entities are already working together to migrate remote customer care services in these regions, where they have been able to reduce waiting times, thus improving customer satisfaction levels through BBVA’s use of the Genesys Cloud CX™ solution.

BBVA joins the global initiative the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Forum. BBVA is the first Spanish bank to join thisworking group, which already includes more than 400 entities, organizations orregulators around the world.

This Monday, Carlos Torres Vila opened the 39th APIE Seminar in Santander, together with Nadia Calviño, the first Vice President of the Spanish government and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. The BBVA Chair said that “private investment will be fundamental to the decarbonization of the planet.” In this regard, he believes authorities play a crucial role in building “confidence, with certainty regarding the regulatory framework, the rules of the game, budgetary and fiscal stability, and competitiveness.”

Grupo DEME, a marine engineering company with a global presence, signed a €20 million sustainable financing agreement with BBVA. The loan is part of an extensive financing package that will enable the Belgian group to finance further investments in its dredging and environmental activities. Based in Zwijndrecht (Belgium) with over 5,200 employees worldwide, the company is reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and the environment.

Carlos Torres Vila emphasized the power of research, innovation and education to tackle the great challenges facing humanity, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the environmental deterioration, during his speech at the 14th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ceremony.

After receiving the authorization of Spain’s National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC in Spanish), BBVA finalized the purchase of Tree Inversiones Inmobiliarias SOCIMI from Merlin Properties. The company has 662 offices rented to BBVA.

Garanti BBVA has funded Tosyalı Roof solar power plant project with a loan of 400 million Turkish lira. The deal demonstrates the bank's ongoing support for sustainable development.

Victoria del Castillo Marchese has been the Head of Strategy and M&A at BBVA since December 2018. Prior to this, she held a variety of different roles at the bank, where she began working in 2001. She was recently interviewed by the media outlet Capital & Corporate, where she recalled that “one of BBVA’s priorities is profitable growth” in places where the bank has a presence, such as Spain, Mexico, Turkey and South America. She also emphasized the value of the digital means of expanding the bank’s activity in other countries: “Digitization allows us to enter new markets,” she said.

Garanti BBVA is supporting an important space for women entrepreneurs in Türkiye. The bank is joining forces with the Women in Trade Platform, which was launched by KAGİDER (Women Entrepreneurs Association of Türkiye), to support women entrepreneurs who contribute to the development of the Turkish economy.

BBVA Mexico’s Annual Meeting of Regional Advisors (RNCR 2022) is a forum where leading BBVA Group executives present and discuss the bank’s performance, projects and future challenges. The meeting provides an opportunity for dialogue on the international context and political situation of the country.

80 percent of BBVA personnel (87,000 employees) in all countries where the bank has a presence have received sustainability training, specifically on climate action and inclusive growth - two pillars of the bank’s sustainability strategy. They have spent an average of 3.5 hours per person in the training.

Garanti BBVA recently renewed its syndicated loan with international markets. The agreement was signed with 30 banks from 16 countries for $594 million, and consists of two separate tranches of $283.5 million and €290.5 million, respectively, and a one year maturity.

Garanti BBVA is supporting a WWF Turkey program that aims to protect nature by helping to fight forest fires. The WWF Fire Management Grant Program provides local civil society groups financial and technical support to implement the projects they develop related to forest fires.

Garanti BBVA recently completed its first derivative transaction linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria with Bank of America.

Garanti BBVA acted as main sponsor of Harvard Business Review Turkey's Sustainability Summit held last week, where business leaders and experts discussed various approaches to understanding, internalizing and focusing on sustainability.

Luisa Gómez Bravo, Global Head of BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking, is in attendance at the World Economic Forum held in the Swiss city of Davos and was one of the speakers at a round table on the mergers and acquisitions market titled 'Will the M&A Boom Last?'. After a record year of M&A deals in 2021, the current economic scenario augurs a decline in this market, due to its high exposure to the international geopolitical context. Even so, mergers and acquisitions continue to offer great opportunities in infrastructure, ESG projects and investment in real assets.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has just published the Private Philanthropy for Development statistics detailing the contribution of the 40 largest foundations in the world. For the third consecutive year, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) is the second worldwide and the first in Latin America.

BBVA’s Turkish unit consolidates its lead in innovative digital payment solutions by adding a new dimension to card transactions with digital receipts, a first in the Turkish banking sector.

As a result of the voluntary takeover bid for the 50.15 percent that BBVA did not own in Garanti BBVA, the Group acquired shares of its Turkish unit, which account for 36.12 percent of its social capital, reaching a total stake of 85.97 percent.

BBVA has placed €1.75 billion in a 3.5-year senior preferred debt issue, maturing in November 2025. The high demand made the issuance of two tranches possible, one with a fixed coupon, of which 1.25 billion was placed, and the other at a variable rate, with a placement of 500 million.

BBVA mobilized €10.81 billion in sustainable financing between January and March, 2022, up 26% from the previous quarter, making it a quarter record. In total, BBVA has mobilized €96.7 billion in sustainable financing between 2018 and 2022’s first quarter.

BBVA CEO Onur Genç stated that “BBVA has a competitive advantage” in the context of digital acceleration resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Digitization boosts our business,” he said during his presentation at the 17th Banking Industry Meeting organized by IESE in Madrid. In March 2022, BBVA added 90,000 new customers in Spain - the largest monthly figures in its history. Over half (52.25 percent) of these customers reached the bank through digital channels.

Garanti BBVA recently launched a new tool to allow customers to view their carbon footprint. The new feature on the Garanti BBVA mobile app calculates their carbon emissions based on utility and fuel expenditures, and aims to contribute to a more sustainable world, and the climate crisis.

In January 2022, the European Central Bank (ECB) launched the first stress test for European banks using climate criteria. Ana Rubio, the Head of Financial Regulation at BBVA, and Antoni Ballabriga, the Global Head of Responsible Business at the bank, help us to better understand exactly what these tests are.

At the presentation of results for the first quarter, BBVA's CEO, Onur Genç, said the bank sees an improved outlook for Spain and Mexico in 2022, "thanks to better-than-expected business dynamics." He pointed out that business dynamics are "highly positive" in all geographies.

As part of Garanti BBVA’s commitment to support Turkey's fight against climate change, the bank has signed an agreement with energy company ABB to promote rapid charging stations for electric vehicles.

BBVA's environmental footprint has decreased considerably in the past two years. In 2021, energy consumption per employee was 14% lower than in 2019, water consumption was 5% lower and paper consumption was 32% lower. Net waste per employee dropped by 52% over the same period.

BBVA Mexico and Liga BBVA MX today announced the signing of a two-year sponsorship agreement for the BBVA MX, Expansión BBVA MX and BBVA MX Femenil leagues and junior tournaments. The goal is to continue strengthening Mexican soccer and its players and teams by promoting the values of this sport and conveying them to the fans: effort, teamwork, perseverance, self-improvement and fair play.

On April 21, 2021, 43 financial institutions from around the world formed the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA).   BBVA now celebrates its first anniversary as a founding member by leading progress in the financial sector toward a more sustainable world.

Garanti BBVA reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2022, posting a net income of TL 8.26 billion, and TL 953.35 billion in assets. Garanti BBVA CEO Recep Baştuğ called attention to the bank’s performance in lending, with the loan portfolio soaring 17 percent to TL 309 billion. “It was a quarter in which we gained market share from the sector in both TL and foreign currency loans, and we are the leader in consumer loans among private banks,” he said. The bank provided a total of TL 712.12 billion in cash and non-cash loans.

BBVA's Board of Directors has agreed to increase the price offered for each share of the 50.15 percent of Garanti BBVA, from the initially announced (12.20 Turkish lira) to 15 Turkish lira.

BBVA’s donation drive in Spain among its employees, customers and non-customers has already collected two million euros, in addition to the bank’s own contribution of one million euros. Nearly 50,000 donors have joined this campaign in aid of Ukraine.

BBVA will invest a total of 15 million euros in Leadwind, a venture capital fund managed by K Fund. In this first phase, the fund will raise 140 million euros to support technology companies in Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

BBVA has announced a 20 million dollar investment in Lowercarbon Capital, one of the few venture capital funds specializing in innovative companies in the climate change and decarbonization fields.  This investment will focus specifically on the carbon capture sector.

Uber, Instagram, Twitter, and Google are some of the companies in which Lowercase Capital & Lowercarbon Capital's founders invested when they were startups. Chris and Crystal Sacca have invested in innovative startups for years, first in technology and more recently in the fight against climate change. As widely known investors, activists and philanthropists in the U.S., they devote a major effort to environmental protection.

Truora has raised $15 million in a series A funding round led by Propel, the fund that manages BBVA’s fintech investments, and Acel - one of the main investors in technology and the Internet. This new injection of capital will allow Truora to reinforce its expansion in Mexico with its solution to verify users through WhatsApp.

BBVA's research unit revised its Spanish GDP growth forecasts downward to 4.1% in 2022 and 3.3% in 2023 (from 5.5% and 4.9% previously). The downgrade takes account of the impact of the invasion of Ukraine, the sanctions imposed on the Russian economy, and steeply rising prices—especially for fuel and electricity—over the past few months, as indicated in the latest 'Spain Economic Outlook' report presented by Jorge Sicilia, Director of BBVA Research and BBVA Chief Economist, Rafael Doménech, Head of Economic Analysis, and Miguel Cardoso, Chief Economist for Spain.

The BBVA Foundation presented the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Social Sciences to Mark Granovetter, “the most eminent economic sociologist in the world,” for revealing the power of “loose social ties” among individuals for people's economic and social performance.

BBVA will co-chair the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) in Colombia, a new public-private partnership that aims to mobilize capital in support of Colombia's climate goals. The initiative will be replicated in other countries to close the climate finance gap in emerging markets.

The BBVA and Anthemis partnership led the first pre-seed funding for Wiserentr with an investment of one million euros. The Spanish startup raised a total of €1.6 million in the funding round, in which Shard Capital also participated. Its novel service reinvents the way to access high-end technology, as users pay a fixed fee throughout the time they use the electronic device. Once the set rental time has ended, it can be returned or purchased to use indefinitely.

BBVA has reached an agreement to purchase Tree Inversiones Inmobiliarias SOCIMI from Merlin Properties. The company has 665 offices rented to BBVA. These offices that currently belong to Merlin are part of the package that BBVA sold to Tree Inversiones in 2009-2019 under a sale and lease back contract.

Three energy projects financed by Garanti BBVA were recently presented with three awards by IJ Global, one of the world's leading journals for energy and infrastructure finance. The prestigious magazine recognized the bank for three projects it financed. The Star Refinery project was presented the award for the Oil and Gas Project of the Year in Europe; the Central Anatolian Natural Gas Combined Cycle Plant project (with installed capacity of 853 MW) won the award for the Best Energy Restructuring Project of the Year in Europe; and the Kalyon - YEKA Karapinar Solar Power Plant Project received the award for the Export Finance Agreement of the Year.

Carlos Torres Vila attended one of the activities of the Code.org programming course for children of BBVA employees. The BBVA Chair shared a day with 146 boys and girls between 5 and 13 years of age to promote programming training among young people.

Garanti Bank is cooperating with the Turkish Marine Environment Protection Association/TURMEPA to further its goal of working toward a sustainable world and combating the climate crisis. Both organizations are collaborating to collect waste and prevent marine pollution in the Marmara Sea and the provinces of the region as part of the “Blue Breath Project”.

Garanti BBVA Asset Management, Turkey's first portfolio management company, continues to offer innovative solutions to its investors. In this context, the company recently created the "Garanti Asset Management Metaverse and New Technologies Variable Fund (MET)", the first fund in Turkey to focus on metaverse - the new virtual and real-world network that is expected to replace the internet in the future.

Garanti BBVA once again made the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, thanks to its efforts to incorporate sustainability in its strategy and all of its activities. The bank has been included in the prestigious index since 2015.

As part of its focus on sustainability, Garanti BBVA is once again the main supporter of Earth Hour - a WWF campaign since 2007.

Given the massive influx of Ukrainian refugees leaving their country as a result of the Russian military invasion and looking for a place to live, BBVA has offered the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations 200 homes for refugees. The homes will be able to house up to 800 people and are spread throughout Spain, but are mostly located in Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia.

Women in Banking (WIB) was created with the purpose of leading and promoting conscious change regarding the value of women in decisive positions in the Spanish banking sector. The initiative was launched thanks to the backing of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB in Spanish), and seven other banks promoting it : BBVA, BNY Mellon, Citi, Deutsche Bank, ING, Sabadell and Santander.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Music and Opera has gone in this fourteenth edition to Philip Glass “for his extraordinary contribution to musical creation and opera, with a major impact in the music history of the 20th and 21st centuries,” in the words of the award committee.

BBVA adheres to a statement signed by 49 companies around the world to support people fleeing Ukraine and address their immediate needs. The companies involved include Adidas, Amazon, Deloitte, FedEx, L'Oréal, Pfizer, Unilever and Virgin. The initiative is part of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a global non-profit. BBVA made  a donation of 1 million euros to improve the living conditions of refugees.

International guarantees, also known as “bank guarantees,” “guarantee bonds,” or “standby letters of credit,” are a key tool for companies that operate internationally, as they ensure that economic obligations will be properly performed. Under this instrument, the guarantor expresses a willingness to fulfill the commitments of the principal obligor facing a third party if the principal fails to do so.

Garanti BBVA is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its support for the Istanbul Jazz Festival, one of Turkey's longest-running festivals, without interruption.

BBVA has launched its Global Financial Education Plan through 2025 with the aim of training one million people and reaching 50 million people who access BBVA content on this subject. The plan, which will be implemented in all countries where BBVA is present, has three lines of action in financial education: society, business support and collaboration.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila was re-elected as a Board member with 98 percent of the votes at the Annual General Meeting, held on Friday in Bilbao. The Group’s CEO Onur Genç was also re-elected with 99 percent of the votes. The AGM was held under a mixed format (remote and onsite), with a quorum of 65 percent.

Garanti BBVA is to start producing environmentally-friendly cards from recyclable plastic. This will be first used with the bank’s Green Bonus cards, which will use the minimum possible amount of PVC.

The Shareholders' General Meeting (also known as the Annual General Meeting or AGM) is one of a company’s primary corporate governance vehicles. During the Meeting, the company’s owners (the shareholders) ratify decisions on topics determined by law and by the corporate bylaws. The AGM includes particular features that are established by corporate law.

BBVA is firmly committed to working towards building a greener and more inclusive society. To this end, for the second consecutive year and on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting, the bank will make a donation of 300,000 euros to social organizations working in four areas related to the environment and inclusive growth. ATADES, Aldeas Infantiles SOS, Asociación Amica and ECODES were the winning organizations in 2022.

For the fifth time in the past six years, Garanti BBVA was named Turkey's Best Investment Bank by Global Finance, one of the world's leading financial magazines. The award confirms the bank’s expertise and reliability in international energy projects and major investments.

BBVA will resume today, March 16, 2022, the execution of its share buyback program. After completing a €1.5 billion initial tranche, it will continue with an additional amount of up to €1 billion, to be executed in the next two to three months. Following its completion, BBVA will proceed with additional buybacks of up to a maximum of €1 billion, thus completing its share buyback program for a maximum of €3.5 billion, one of the largest among European banks to date.

Garanti BBVA has signed a contract with Standard Chartered for $75 million with a maturity of 370 days. In doing so, it repurchased a repo transaction related to  Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), realizing the first repo transaction indexed to sustainability performance.

BBVA has set a huge digital challenge for itself: to go one step further in the banking services it provides and offer personalized suggestions that improve its customers’  financial health. To do so, it uses data science to identify the characteristics that define them (always with their prior consent) and therefore offer suggestions on how to manage their everyday finances, lower their debt, save or plan for the future.

BBVA's CEO, Onur Genç, expressed BBVA's intention to go beyond financing and advising its customers in the transition to a sustainable future. At the IIF Sustainable Finance Summit, he announced that “BBVA will invest in promising innovative companies involved in decarbonization”.

The financial institution is launching the second edition of the BBVA CIB Female Graduate Training Program, an initiative to incorporate 20 fresh female graduates in the BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking area. This initiative offers the opportunity to unlock the potential of the selected women with immersive training for a year that includes placements in different teams and countries before joining the workforce. This program is aligned with the bank's diversity strategy and shows the bank's commitment to promoting female profiles in areas where they are less present.

BBVA is rolling out its innovative Quantitative Investment Strategies (QIS) product line for investors in South America, focused on the design, manufacture and distribution of investment strategies that materialize in proprietary indices. In March, Peru will become the first country to incorporate these innovative strategies into local investment products. Colombia and Chile will follow.

BBVA has launched a donation campaign amongst its customers and employees in Spain, aimed at aiding in the humanitarian crisis that Ukraine is suffering. Moreover, BBVA will enable free transfers from individuals to Ukraine from March 7.

Garanti BBVA recently published its 2021 Integrated Annual Report entitled ‘How Does a Bank Create Value?’ Covering both the bank’s activities throughout the year and its economic indicators, the aim of the report is to serve as an example and an inspiration, inviting all of the Garanti BBVA’s stakeholders to turn words into action.

Starting Jan 1, 2022, BBVA must meet a volume of own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) of 21.46 percent, or 24.72 percent including the requirement of combined capital buffers in terms of its risk-weighted assets (RWAs). As of December 31, 2021, the bank already complied with this requirement, reaching 28.24 percent, as well as with the subordination requirement.

Garanti BBVA in collaboration with Ekonomist magazine and the Turkish Association of Female Entrepreneurs (KAGİDER) recently celebrated the 15th edition of the Women Entrepreneur Competition. During the awards ceremony on March 3rd, the winners of the four leading categories were announced.

In 2021, 79 percent of energy consumption at BBVA's facilities around the world came from renewable sources, surpassing the 70 percent target set in its 2025 Pledge on direct environmental impacts. The bank has also managed to reduce its direct CO2 emissions worldwide by 67.5 percent compared to 2015, very close to the 68 percent target set for 2025.

BBVA is to donate €1 million, to be split 50/50 between UNICEF and UNHCR, to respond to the humanitarian emergency in Ukraine. This step is in addition to the donation campaign launched by the bank among its employees and customers, which has raised more than €200,000 so far.

INWIT, the leading Italian telecommunications tower operator, has taken another step forward in its commitment to sustainability by incorporating environmental and social criteria in its core revolving credit facility (RCF). BBVA acted as global and sustainability coordinator for this revolving credit line which involves a total of 10 lenders.

Capital Finance International (CFI) has awarded BBVA Asset Management (BBVA AM) the prize for the best global sustainable strategy in 2022. The financial magazine notes the policies that the asset manager has adopted in sustainable matters and that are part of the Sustainability Plan it launched at the end of 2020.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance and Management has gone in this fourteenth edition to Matthew O. Jackson “for his pioneering work on illuminating the role of networks in economic and social life.”  His work can be applied to the study of the labor market, inequality and even the management of crises such as the one caused by COVID-19 or Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The District of Bogota signed a one trillion Colombian peso (about $253 million) social loan with BBVA, which is in turn secured by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, MIGA. This operation is the first that MIGA secures in local currency in Colombia and marks a milestone in the structured finance market for the country's public sector.

Garanti BBVA recently completed its first circular economy loan. The bank’s €18 million loan to Altek Metal forms part of its commitment to support the transition to a low carbon economy.

BBVA allocated €106.3 million to social programs and initiatives that benefited 44.2 million people in 2021. This figure accounts for 20% of total planned expenditure, as announced in the Bank's Community Commitment for the period 2021-2025 (€500 million). In the first year of the period, 45% of the goal of reaching 100 million people has almost been achieved.

BBVA received approval from the Chilean Financial Market Commission (CMF) to open a representative office in the country's capital, Santiago de Chile. It will focus on developing and promoting the investment banking business, under the management of BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking (BBVA CIB).

The fourteenth BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences recognized the contributions of Charles Fefferman and Jean-François Le Gall to mathematical analysis and probability theory, two domains that have applications in multiple fields, from the behavior of fluids to quantum mechanics and the properties of graphene.

Garanti BBVA Executive Vice President Ebru Dildar Edin, who attended the event to speak for the Turkish banking industry, was a member of the panel on "Financing Water Solutions and Programs Based on Innovative Science and Green Technology"

Loans to wholesale, corporate and individual clients represent 71.6 percent (€61.4 billion) of the €86 billion BBVA has channeled in sustainable financing between 2018 and 2021. These loans are a fundamental part of the sustainable solutions promoted by the bank to identify the opportunities that arise from climate change and inclusive growth. The remaining 30 percent mainly comes from bond intermediation, project finance and socially  responsible investment.

Garanti BBVA and PwC Turkey organized a webinar discussing ESG and its impact on the energy sector, discussing the Paris Agreement, the European Union Green Agreement, the Carbon Regulation Mechanism at the Border, the need for incentives for a sustainable financial market and action proposals. Emre Hatem, Investment Banking and Finance Director of Garanti BBVA, Murat Çolakoglu, PwC Turkey Energy Infrastructure and Natural Resources Sector Leader, Evren Sezer, PwC Turkey ESG Platform Leader and Mehmet Özenbas, ESG Director of PwC Turkey, shared their views.

Atom, the UK's first app-based bank, has raised more than £75m in new equity (around €90m)¹. Together with Toscafund and Infinity Investment Partners, BBVA has led this round, which is still open to other shareholders of the company. BBVA has once again shown its support for the Atom project and team, of which it has been a shareholder since 2015 and which it has supported in all its share capital increases. BBVA is currently the main shareholder, with a 39% holding.

BBVA has released the 2021 annual report on the remuneration of directors. For the first time the bank is applying the directors’ remuneration policy approved at the latest Annual General Meeting (AGM), which includes the best practices in the market in terms of compensation. In 2021, a year in which the bank posted its highest recurring result and the highest cash dividend per share of the past ten years, the total remuneration for the Chair and the CEO increased 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively, compared to 2019. The remuneration of 2020 is not comparable as that year both waived their full variable compensation as a gesture of responsibility during a period heavily marked by the pandemic.

BBVA has reached an agreement to invest $300 million (about €263 million¹) in Neon, a Brazilian digital bank founded in 2016 that aims to improve access to financial services for individuals, self-employed and small businesses in its country. Neon has 15 million registered accounts. The investment takes place in a context of unprecedented technological disruption, with solid growth of digital and innovative models, particularly in financial services. In addition to a clear commitment to innovation, this investment allows BBVA to gain exposure to retail banking in Brazil, a market with one of the highest potential in the world.

BBVA will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bilbao, on March 18, 2022. As per the meeting agenda, it is to propose the appointment of Connie Hedegaard as a new board member, a highly qualified expert in the field of sustainability and climate change: She was the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Minister of the Environment in Denmark, her home country. BBVA’s Board of Directors will thus increase the number of women from five to six, of a total of 15 members, and will reach its goal of having at least 40 percent of women in its Board before the end of 2022, as agreed in its Selection, suitability and diversity policy. Furthermore, the Board will maintain a majority of independent board members (66.67 percent) and a 40 percent of international members.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Information and Communication Technologies has gone in this fourteenth edition to Judea Pearl for “bringing a modern foundation to artificial intelligence”. The Professor of Computer Science at the University of California (UCLA), has made contributions that enable AI programs to use two of the key resources we humans use to interpret the world and arrive at decisions: probability and causality.

BBVA has accelerated the volume of financing for sustainability-related projects, both for climate action and those that contribute to inclusive economic growth In 2021, the bank channeled 35.4 billion euros in sustainable finance, up 72% from 2020, and totaling 86 billion since announcing its sustainable finance commitment in 2018 This amount is 43% of the announced total target: 200 billion euros for the 2018-2025 period.

The strategic alliance between the two entities has enabled the integration of Google Cloud into BBVA's technology platform. This collaboration is helping the bank reduce the time it takes to launch digital products, better detect cyber threats, make sustainability one of its core capabilities, and compete with digital fintechs.

Garanti BBVA recently released its 2021 results, posting the highest growth in Turkish lira (TL) loans among private banks. The total amount of cash and non-cash loans for the year was TL 609.74 billion, and assets reached TL 849.40 billion. Deposits remained the primary source of funding, representing 69 percent of total assets, or TL 582.26 billion and growth of 63 percent over the year.  Garanti BBVA’s strong capital position remains, with a capital adequacy ratio of 13.98 percent (not including temporary measures taken by Turkey’s financial regulator, the BRSA). The return on average equity (ROAE) was 19.0 percent and the return on average assets (ROAA) was 2.0 percent (excluding one-off items).  The bank’s net income for the year was TL 13.59 billion.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology has gone in this fourteenth edition to the ecologists Lenore Fahrig, Simon Levin and Steward Pickett for incorporating the spatial dimension into ecosystem research.The three award winners have made fundamental contributions both to the development of the theory and mathematics of spatial ecology, and to its application to the design of nature reserve areas, wildlife management plans, as well as road networks and sustainable cities, according to the jury.

BBVA has improved one position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), thus becoming the most sustainable bank in the world, together with the South Korean bank, KB Financial Group. Both banks received the highest score in the global banks category. After holding the second position for the past two years, this is the first time that BBVA has reached the top position in this benchmark international ranking.

Garanti BBVA, one of Turkey’s leading banks in sustainable finance, has released its 2019 - 2020 Garanti BBVA Green Bond Allocation and Impact Report, in which the bank shares details of how it allocated the proceeds of its green bond issue and reports on the impact of funded projects.

BBVA’s Turkish unit recently became the only company in the country to be included in Bloomberg’s Gender Equality Index for the 6th consecutive year. The bank was recognized for its social and economic empowerment of women, its promotion of women’s participation in decision-making mechanisms and its efforts to achieve gender equality in professional and personal life. As a result, the bank’s score rose from 78.56 last year to 88.56 this year.

The jury of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine has selected Katalin Karikó, Robert Langer and Drew Weissman for their contributions to messenger RNA therapeutics and the technology that enables our own cells to produce proteins for the prevention and treatment of disease. The first clinical application of their work was the development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.

BBVA will create 200 jobs in two years, with the launch of two technology centers in Bilbao. These centers will have specialized profiles such as computer, telecommunications, systems and industrial engineers, as well as mathematicians.

BBVA has joined the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) in order to accelerate the development of large-scale solutions to fight climate change. BBVA is currently the only bank in the world in this alliance, which includes 15 leading companies from different sectors, working together with MIT academic research teams. The members of the consortium will share processes and strategies for environmental innovation.

BBVA is the first Spanish bank to launch on the wholesale markets, with a euro-denominated senior non-preferred bond of 1 billion euros. The issue has received a high level of demand of two billion euros - double the target, with 125 orders.

With December 2021’s data, BBVA customers using its digital financial health tools now exceed 11.7 million. This is the equivalent of a 48% increase in relation to the almost 8 million customers that used these features a year ago, according to the data recently made public by the bank.

The European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) and BBVA are once again joining forces to support the working capital and liquidity needs of Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the COVID19 crisis, as well as to cover their investment difficulties. To this end, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) will guarantee a junior tranche of a €120 million synthetic securitization of an SME loan portfolio originated by BBVA, enabling the Basque bank to provide more than €960 million in financing to support the investment of small and medium-sized enterprises.

As part of its efforts in sustainable finance, Garanti BBVA is to implement the Green Finance Specialist training course for some of its employees, in cooperation with the Green for Growth Fund (GGF) Technical Support Facility and the Renewable Energy Academy (RENAC). The course aims to increase the technical expertise of about 30 Garanti BBVA employees who work in different regions as loan officers, loan specialists and other related areas.