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BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila took part in the closing ceremony of the BBVA Spark Summit 2025 in Barcelona, the leading event for startups, scaleups and investors. In a dialogue with BBVA Spark Global Head Santiago Muguruza, he stressed AI’s central role in customer service and outlined a series of strategic AI projects designed to deliver excellence in customer‑relationship processes, customization and efficiency.

BBVA has received LEED Gold certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for the sustainability of its office located at 389 9th Avenue in New York. This recognition, awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), accredits the entity's commitment to energy efficiency, responsible use of resources and the creation of healthy spaces for its professionals and customers.

“Since the global financial crisis, Spanish non-financial corporates and households have cut their leverage by more than the European average,” said BBVA’s Global Head of Commercial & Institutional Client Solutions, Jaime Sáenz de Tejada. In his opinion, this has given the banking sector in Spain “robust growth margins and a highly resilient model.” At an event organized by AEB and CECA in Frankfurt on Tuesday, Sáenz de Tejada pointed to “diversification as one of the keys to the success of Spanish banking.”

The three leading rating agencies have upgraded BBVA’s rating over the past three weeks. On Tuesday, Fitch upgraded the long-term senior preferred debt one notch, from A- to A. It also upgraded BBVA’s long-term issuer rating, from BBB+ to A-, with a stable outlook, among other improvements. This latest move joins the recent upgrades by S&P and Moody’s.

BBVA CEO Onur Genç said on Tuesday that the acceptance period for the takeover bid for Banco Sabadell is progressing well ahead of expectations. Genç participated in the 16th Financial Meeting organized by KPMG and business daily Expansión in Madrid, where he emphasized the positive response from shareholders, both institutional and retail, who are backing the transaction. He reiterated his belief that BBVA will comfortably exceed the 50 percent acceptance threshold thanks to the financial appeal and strategic rationale of the offer. He also stressed that “waiting for a hypothetical second bid makes no sense, as it would be highly unlikely and would offer no advantages in terms of price, timing or taxation. Shareholders who do not tender their shares will be left out and will not benefit from the price being offered,” he said.

Garanti BBVA Pensions was honored with the silver award in the Digital Transformation category of the Smart-i Awards for its innovative approach to digitizing insurance sales on Garanti BBVA Mobile.

It will soon be enough to spot a shirt we like and just ask a voice-enabled AI device to send it home in our size and in a different color, bypassing the entire traditional online shopping process. Artificial intelligence is set to transform shopping into a conversational experience, explained Carmela Gómez, Global Head of Open Banking at BBVA, at the Sibos financial event. AI will also enable companies to anticipate cash needs, open up new financial opportunities for vulnerable communities, and make access to credit easier for gig economy workers.

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Following the recent upgrade of BBVA’s rating by S&P, another leading ratings agency, Moody’s, has raised BBVA’s rating from A3 to A2, one notch above that of Spain, with a stable outlook. The main reason behind this upgrade is the favorable performance of BBVA’s fundamentals.

From January to August 2025, BBVA reached €3.1 billion in agrifood business, a 69 percent increase over the same period in 2024. Of this amount, €2.09 billion corresponded to sustainable business, with 82 percent YoY growth. BBVA announced these figures at Fruit Attraction, one of the world’s top fruit and vegetable trade fairs, held this week in Madrid.

SWIFT, the global financial messaging network connecting more than 11,500 institutions in 200 countries, is set to develop a shared blockchain platform that will function as a common digital ledger for banks around the world. This infrastructure will enable seamless, real-time international payments and transfers and transactions with stablecoins and digital assets. BBVA has joined a consortium of more than 30 partner banks now starting work on a prototype.

BBVA’s Turkish franchise has shifted a branch-only product to digital channels, enabling quicker access for clients funding sustainability-focused investments.

With South America undergoing a transformation that demands decisive investments in infrastructure, energy, agriculture, technology and mining, BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) is committed to being the strategic partner of corporations and institutions. Its offering combines innovative and sustainable financial solutions with close, hands‑on support. This is underscored by Verónica Incera, Head of CIB for South America and Argentina, who highlights the bank’s commitment to supporting its clients’ internationalisation with high‑value advice and a clear focus on their specific needs.

BBVA has introduced an innovative new feature to its banking app, allowing customers to personalize their Visa cards using Image Playground with Apple Intelligence technology. The functionality is now available in Spain on virtual cards for users with iPhone 15 Pro and newer models, and will soon be extended to physical cards.

BBVA, in a further show of its commitment to offering innovative payment solutions, has launched a new virtual card product in Mexico alongside Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and Sabre Direct Pay, Sabre Corporation’s (NASDAQ: SABR) virtual payment solution. This innovative offering in Mexico enables travel agencies to issue secure virtual card numbers (VCNs) for each payment. This improves control, integrates with backend reconciliation tools, and significantly reduces manual work and errors.

BBVA announced the renewal of its technology services agreement with Kyndryl, the leading provider of enterprise technology services, and the creation of two joint ventures in Spain and Mexico. Thanks to this agreement, the bank will improve user experience, invest in talent and guarantee the stability, security, resilience and robustness of its IT operations.

BBVA shareholders will receive on November 7¹, 2025, a gross interim cash dividend of €.032 per share charged to 2025 earnings, up 10 percent from a year earlier. This is the highest interim dividend in BBVA’s history. Banco Sabadell shareholders who have tendered their shares will also receive this dividend, as the payout will materialize following the settlement of the tender offer.

BBVA, as a founding member (and only bank), has joined the Coalition for Sustainable Procurement, a global alliance led by the United Nations Global Compact that seeks to mainstream sustainability into procurement processes and supply chains internationally.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila assured in an interview with Spanish news agency EFE that the offer for Banco Sabadell is an “exceptional opportunity that shareholders should not miss.” In his remarks, he reaffirmed his confidence in the success of the transaction and recalled that the term to tender the shares ends on October 10. “We are going to surpass 50 percent. We are absolutely certain of it because it’s an exceptional offer. It was from the start, and with the improved offer, even more so,” he said. Regarding a possible second takeover bid, he affirmed: “There’s no reason to wait because that hypothetical, uncertain second takeover bid offers no appeal compared to the offer that is already on the table—not in terms of price, not in terms of timing, and not in terms of tax treatment.” Furthermore, “BBVA would never proceed with that second bid unless the price remained the same.”

Clean technologies, also known as 'cleantech', are technologies that contribute to sustainability and environmental protection. This includes innovative solutions for  both climate change adaptation and mitigation, ranging from emission reduction to biodiversity protection and water treatment.

The Global Head of Sustainability and Corporate and Investment Banking at BBVA, Javier Rodríguez Soler, underscored the enormous demand for electricity and energy expected in the U.S. in the coming years, and the need to have the greatest possible variety and quantity of energy sources. “In this sense, we see a growing potential to invest in clean energy in the U.S.,” he said at the ‘Latin America, the U.S. and Spain in the Global Economy Forum’ as part of New York Climate Week activities.

The Spanish National Securities Markets Commission (CNMV) has authorized the new BBVA offer to Banco Sabadell shareholders, which involves a 10 percent increase and an improved tax treatment. The take-up period is set to resume today, Sept. 25. Banco Sabadell shareholders can now tender their shares and join the integration project with BBVA. They can do so until Oct. 10, 2025, inclusive.

Garanti BBVA has launched ‘Garanti BBVA Genç,’ a new section on its mobile app where young people between the ages of 18 and 26 can access campaigns and promotions tailored to their needs and interests.

BBVA’s model to finance its clients’ decarbonization was honored by the World Economic Forum’s Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders during New York Climate Week. The jury recognized BBVA’s solutions for its clients as best practice in the Finance category. Together with three winners from other sectors, they “show how companies can move beyond incremental change to deliver the systemic shifts needed for a net-zero, resilient global economy.”

‘First-of-a-kind’ (FOAK) is a technological term that refers to the implementation of a ’cleantech,’ or clean technology, for the first time in real conditions and on a commercial scale. These projects mark the transition from experimental development to market adoption and are fundamental to promoting the energy transition and advancing decarbonization.

Public and private investment in clean technologies (‘cleantech’) in Spain and Portugal must increase by an additional €50 billion per year until 2030, beyond current levels, to reach the decarbonization targets in the Paris Agreement. This was stressed in the report, ‘Capital Cleantech in Iberia: Mapping the Landscape, Mobilising the Investments,’ which also encourages financial solutions to support the implementation of innovative, pioneering projects, as well as their scalability and commercialization.

Photograph created using artificial intelligence (Midjourney).

BBVA once again attended the ‘Digital Assets’ Forum organized by El Confidencial. For the eighth time, the event brought together the Spanish crypto ecosystem, which is starting to move beyond the experimentation phase and roll out real services following the entry into force of MiCA. In this context, BBVA has established itself as an experienced player, as it was the first traditional European bank to offer a cryptoasset service in Switzerland in 2021, and the first to offer it in Spain. Alfonso Gómez, CEO of BBVA Switzerland, stressed the financial sector’s responsibility in supporting the consolidation of digital assets and the importance of offering customers safe, reliable solutions.

The BBVA Board of Directors has agreed to improve the offer to Banco Sabadell shareholders by 10 percent¹. In addition, the consideration will now be entirely in shares, so shareholders with capital gains would not be subject to taxation in Spain, if acceptance exceeds 50 percent of Banco Sabadell’s voting rights, as the transaction would qualify as tax neutral in that case. The Board of Directors has also agreed to waive both the possibility of making further improvements to the consideration and of extending the acceptance period.

Garanti BBVA has launched a new feature that helps users select the card that provides the most benefits for each transaction. Known as SMART (smart, mobile, advanced, relaxed, technology), the feature is a first in Turkey and is the latest example of Garanti BBVA’s focus on personalizing payment experiences for its customers.

Climate Week NYC returns September 21-28, 2025, for its 17th edition. Operating under the banner "Power On," the event will host more than 900 activities and deliver an unequivocal message: the time has come to deploy solutions at scale. As COP30 in Brazil approaches, governments, businesses, and civil society will gather to transform promises into concrete action.

BBVA has launched a new service that enables financial institutions outside Europe to send payments to Spain in just seconds, at any time of day and on any day of the year. The service significantly enhances efficiency for sending banks while allowing recipients to access funds instantly, helping corporates optimize treasury management and offering retail customers a seamless experience.

At Bank of America's investor conference in London, BBVA CEO Onur Genç reaffirmed the attractiveness of his bank's offer for Banco Sabadell.  Genç argued that BBVA's track record and future prospects position it as the ideal partner for Sabadell,  telling investors that those who accept the offer will join the European bank with the highest growth and profitability levels. He emphasized that BBVA's geographic diversification and leading franchises would enhance value creation for new shareholders.  Genç stressed that the bank stands strongly positioned to generate value: “We have announced  €36 billion¹ available for distribution throughout 2025-2028”.

The rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has upgraded BBVA’s  rating by one notch, from A to A+, matching Spain’s sovereign rating, with a stable outlook. “BBVA continues to deliver solid risk-adjusted returns and it is our view that BBVA’s  financial strength is now  in line with that of larger and more diversified European and global  peers,” S&P noted.

BBVA’s Turkish franchise has partnered with Ivy Decarb Marketplace to help textile manufacturers cut carbon emissions. The bank will finance companies through the platform as they shift to cleaner production methods.

The new office houses an Energy and Cleantech Hub, bringing specialized advisory capabilities to help clients advance their decarbonization strategies. It also serves as a platform to accelerate the growth of Corporate & Investment Banking in the U.S., expand Global Wealth Advisory services, and reinforce support for BBVA Mexico clients through its long-standing Agency in Houston. In addition, BBVA is proud to participate as a sponsor of both Houston Energy & Climate Week and Houston Energy & Climate Startup Week taking place from September 14-19.

The investor roadshow is a cornerstone in the bond issuance process. It serves three fundamental purposes: gauging market sentiment, defining the pricing range, and securing the success of the transaction through meticulous preparation and a strategic approach. BBVA CIB organises these meetings in Europe’s leading financial hubs, with a focus on credibility, transparency, deep market insight, and flexibility, reaffirming its commitment to being the partner of choice for companies and to accompanying them throughout their growth journey.

For the third year running, Time has published its World’s Best Companies 2025 ranking, with BBVA having climbed 37 positions compared with 2024, claiming eighth spot globally (45th in 2024). In Spain, it was ranked as the top performer in the banking sector. The ranking, which evaluates 1,000 multinational companies, assesses employee satisfaction, financial performance, and progress toward sustainability.