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Following the assessment of the condition imposed by the Spanish Council of Ministers on June 24, 2025, BBVA is to move forward with the acquisition of Banco Sabadell as “the project creates significant value for the shareholders of both entities and represents a unique opportunity to build one the most competitive and innovative banks in Europe. Together we will be a stronger institution, with greater scale and the capacity to increase lending to households and business by €5 billion annually, thereby supporting the economic growth of our country,” BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila said.

Brazil is emerging as a pillar of growth and sustainability for BBVA in Latin America, with the formal launch of its local operations in the country. With a permanent office now up and running in São Paulo, an initial product offering in place, and a rapidly growing team, the bank is entering a new phase in its regional strategy, reaffirming its commitment to key markets across the region.

This week, BBVA completed two significant risk transfers (SRTs) with a combined value of €3.5 billion.  BBVA also reached an agreement to sell a €314 million portfolio of restructured mortgages. These transactions allow the Group to unblock regulatory capital, as part of its strategy to optimize capital allocation.

Garanti BBVA has been recognized as the “Best Cash Management Bank” in Türkiye by Global Finance magazine for the second year in a row. The publication, which has been evaluating financial institutions globally for 37 years, honored the bank for its continued excellence in the cash management field.

The transaction, a $200 million trade loan facility, is 95% backed by the multilateral agency MIGA, part of the World Bank Group. This financing, which supports the transition towards more sustainable and resilient economic models in the country, reflects BBVA CIB’s ability to execute complex cross-border transactions and address client needs in core geographies such as Brazil. At the same time, the deal, executed in a key market such as the United Kingdom, reaffirms the strategic importance of the institutional segment, in close collaboration with the public sector.

Today in Frankfurt, BBVA officially launched its new digital bank in Germany. It combines cutting-edge technology, through one of the top financial apps in the world, with a compelling value proposition: an interest-bearing checking account paying three percent for the first 12 months, and a debit card with a three percent cashback on purchases - both paid monthly and completely free of charges, with no fees. “We’re bringing something new to Germany. A banking experience that combines the simplicity and convenience of a fee-free account, typical of digital actors, with the full range of products, reliability, and trust of a universal bank,” said BBVA CEO Onur Genç.

Garanti BBVA Crypto is partnering with Wyden, a global provider of institutional digital asset trading infrastructure, to strengthen its crypto service offering for retail and institutional clients. As part of the collaboration, Garanti BBVA Crypto will support trading pairs between the Turkish Lira, US Dollar, and other cryptocurrencies, expanding local market access and providing a seamless, efficient trading experience for Turkish investors.

The collaboration with Olea will enable BBVA to broaden its global reach in supply chain finance solutions, through an agile model tailored to the needs of internationally operating companies.

Jamil Zaki earned his degree in Cognitive Neuroscience from Boston University, obtained a Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Center for Brain Science. He is currently a professor of Psychology and director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, where he has become an international authority on empathy, which he describes not as an innate trait but as one that can be trained through practices ranging from meditation to compassionate attention to others.

On Monday, BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila gave the opening remarks at the 42nd APIE Seminar at the Menendez Pelayo International University in Santander. During his presentation, the Chair stressed that Europe is at a turning point, requiring greater ambition, and a financial system with banks that are capable of competing on a global scale. In this context, he underscored that the proposed integration with Banco Sabadell is a firm commitment to Europe, Spain and Catalonia. “The transaction has already been approved by competent Spanish and European authorities, and is backed by remedies from BBVA. Now the decision is up to the shareholders,” he said.

Asia has become the epicentre of global business dynamism. Today, 44% of the companies listed on the Fortune 500 originate from Asia, a significant increase from 31% in 2010. This shift marks the rise of a new generation of multinationals that are driving the transformation of the global economy. PepFerrís, Head of BBVA CIB in Asia, shares the key pillars behind the bank’s strategic commitment to this region.

The Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ceremony paid tribute to 20 leading figures in science and culture, recognized for their decisive contributions to the advancement of knowledge. Carlos Torres Vila, President of the BBVA Foundation, emphasized in his speech that we are living in complex times, marked by enormous challenges, but we also possess “extraordinary tools to confront them: science, technology and culture.”

The steel sector is responsible for seven percent of global CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. Thanks to cleantech companies like H2 Green Steel they are making headway in more sustainable production, reducing emissions by up to 95 percent in key processes.

Photo: Midjourney (AI)

The BBVA Chair recalled this Wednesday that the BBVA Sabadell transaction has received over 27 approvals, including from the CNMC, following a process that has been “more rigorous and longer than ever before.” In an interview with Carlos Alsina on Onda Cero’s ‘Más de uno’ show, Carlos Torres Vila underscored that the integration with Banco Sabadell is a transaction between two private actors. “The truth is that what really serves the public interest is for Banco Sabadell shareholders to be able to decide whether to accept the offer,” he said. “We are confident that they will decide to join this great project.”

With the slogan ‘Go Further’ as the central theme, nearly 1,600 BBVA professionals gathered in Madrid to explore the Group’s new 2025–2029 strategic plan. Officially presented in February, the teams responsible for the plan’s design and execution are now working through the details. At the opening of the event, BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila and CEO Onur Genç reflected on the achievements of the previous plan (2021-2024): profitable growth, over 14 million new target customers, and the early fulfillment of the sustainable business commitment, channeling €300 billion of sustainable finance one year ahead of schedule. They also conveyed their vision of the future: a competitive scenario, full of opportunity.

Ever wanted to manage your money better but weren’t sure where to start? BBVA has taken another step forward in its commitment to improving the financial health of its customers by launching a coach based on artificial intelligence (AI) that supports them in every financial decision. Integrated into the bank’s mobile app, the personal trainer analyzes your circumstances, helps you set goals, and suggests tailored plans so you can achieve your financial goals step by step.

The Blue Breath project was launched in 2021 by Garanti BBVA in collaboration with DenizTemiz Derneği/TURMEPA to protect Turkish marine ecosystems. Over the past four years, Blue Breath has worked with a variety of stakeholders to carry out clean-up projects, training sessions, and other environmental protection initiatives.

The agreement contributes to the development of climate technologies, or cleantech, in a first-of-a-kind project to support European energy resilience, helping stabilize the power grid and promoting decarbonization in the energy industry.

BBVA Global Head of Sustainability and Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) Javier Rodríguez Soler affirmed that “BBVA is the 4th largest bank financing data centers in the U.S.,” based on data from January 1 through May 29, 2025*. During an event organized by the Spain–U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Houston, Rodríguez Soler said that “the U.S. will continue to be a strategic growth market for BBVA.”

Photo credit: Spain–U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Bank of Spain has informed BBVA of its new minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), the regulatory framework that requires banks to have sufficient funds to absorb losses in case of crisis.  Starting June 12, 2025, BBVA must maintain a buffer of 23.13 percent of the total risk-weighted assets (including the parent company, BBVA S.A and its subsidiaries in Europe). With an MREL ratio of 33.20 percent at the end of March 2025, the bank already far exceeds this threshold, and also meets the additional requirements for subordination and capital buffers.

Kay Firth-Butterfield, CEO of Good Tech Advisory and former Head of Artificial Intelligence at the World Economic Forum, reflected at BBVA’s FinAI Summit on the challenges of responsible artificial intelligence and on the kind of relationship society wants to forge with this technology: AI is not our best buddy or our partner, she stated, even though 20 percent of men in the United States have used it at some point “as a romantic partner, the person they talk to, the person they love. Is that the future we want with this technology?”.

The structural evolution of the financial landscape demands a constant pursuit of long-term value creation, strategic risk management, and progress towards more sustainable business models. BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking (BBVA CIB) takes an active role in addressing this reality through a global and specialised offering for its wholesale clients—designed to tackle today’s challenges while building tomorrow’s opportunities.

Scaling up ‘cleantech’ (also known as clean technologies) means expanding innovative projects, those that aim to decarbonize the economy, so they can grow and adapt to market demand. To do so, adequate financing is fundamental in order to produce and distribute this technology at a greater scale and lower cost, boosting competitiveness and the reindustrialization process. According to Cleantech for Europe, banks remain, by far, “the largest financial institutions in Europe” contributing to this effort.

Garanti BBVA has contributed over $440 million in support to the Turkish economy by renewing its existing syndicated loan.

The bank offers tailored solutions that help large corporations tackle the challenges of the energy transition, regulatory environment, and the decarbonisation of production models. With a global presence and specialized approach, BBVA CIB supports its clients across five strategic sectors — energy, infrastructure and construction, industry and transportation, TMT, and consumer, retail and leisure — with the goal of becoming their financial partner of reference.

The first edition of Global Finance AI in Finance Awards named BBVA the best bank in Spain for its artificial intelligence strategy, both within the organization and in its financial solutions for individuals. The publication also recognized one of BBVA’s revenue forecasting tools as the top AI risk management solution in Mexico and Latin America.

Image generated with Artificial Intelligence (Midjourney)

BBVA Spain’s CEO, Peio Belausteguigoitia, made the case on Tuesday that the proposed integration with Banco Sabadell is a transaction to drive growth, and makes strategic sense. It fits with the bank’s vision for the future, seeking to create value for all stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders and society as a whole. Speaking at the 20th IESE Banking Forum in Madrid, he stated that “the proposed integration with Banco Sabadell is a commitment to unite and combine the strengths of both banks in order to create a better financial institution than each bank on its own.”

Photo: The Country Manager of BBVA in Spain, Peio Belausteguigoitia, and Juan Rivera, Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting.