BBVA CEO Onur Genç recently visited the U.S. operations of BBVA in a homecoming of sorts. As the President and CEO of the global financial services company’s U.S. subsidiary in 2017 and 2018, Genç is highly familiar with the bank’s U.S. operations, and the team was glad to welcome him back for a series of meetings meant to encourage the market as they begin the execution phase of the bank’s new 5-year strategic plan.

Capital Magazine ranked BBVA’s CEO at the top of its list of the 50 most influential Turkish executives working abroad. And Forbes Spain ranked Onur Genç the third best Spanish CEO of the decade for Spanish Ibex-listed companies.

Following several quarters of slowing down, the Turkish economy is starting to stabilize, and forecasts suggest a V-shaped recovery for 2020. BBVA CEO went to Turkey this week to meet with the Garanti BBVA team. Onur Genç stressed that: “Turkey was the biggest positive surprise for the Group in 2019, and 2020 will be even better.”

“We are in a climate emergency. It is currently the most pressing challenge humanity must face, and we have to be fast in taking action,” declared BBVA CEO Onur Genç, who recognized the important role sustainable finance plays in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. In a panel on the financial sector and sustainability at the Climate Change Conference in Madrid, BBVA’s CEO underscored the financial institution’s role in accompanying clients in this crucial environmental transition.

BBVA CEO Onur Genç stated that: “Today, more than ever, banks play an important role in addressing the sustainability challenge.” In his opinion, “Only banks can play a central role in  distributing the resources, which is a key part of the climate change challenge.” The executive made these remarks at the 15th IESE Banking Industry.

In an opinion piece published by the Spanish daily newspaper ‘ABC,’ BBVA CEO Onur Genç asserts that Spanish banks are recognized international leaders in the sector, not only because of their financial solidity and global reach, but also because they have spearheaded the transformation of the industry.

BBVA earned €1.23 billion in the third quarter, +6.1 percent yoy, excluding capital gains from the sale of BBVA Chile and this franchise’s earnings in 2018. The net attributable profit for the first nine months of 2019 reached €3.67 billion, +1.2 percent yoy (+0.5 percent in constant euros), on a comparable basis. The result was driven mainly by growth in recurring revenues and containment in operating expenses.

Onur Genç, BBVA CEO:

BBVA CEO Onur Genç said on Monday that the bank is focused on organic growth, efficiency and transactionality, all leveraged by digitization. “We are focused on these three levers to ensure we provide the best value,” he said at the 10th Expansión-KPMG Financial Meeting in Madrid. He also recalled that “we have been pioneering the digital transformation.”

BBVA Group executive chairman Carlos Torres Vila, CEO Onur Genç, and the Country Manager of BBVA Spain, Cristina de Parias met on Friday with the bank’s management team in Catalonia to discuss the challenges and opportunities this territory offers. More than 60 percent of Catalan companies are BBVA clients. The bank will continue putting the focus on connecting with its clients and customers.

Garanti BBVA appoints Recep Bastug as its new CEO, replacing Fuat Erbil. Recep Bastug also becomes the new Country Manager for BBVA in Turkey. The change is effective as of September 1st, subject to required regulatory approvals.

Between January and June 2019, BBVA Group earned €2.44 billion. In the second quarter, the net attributable profit reached €1.28 billion, up 10 percent qoq, and 6 percent yoy, excluding the sale of BBVA Chile, thus maintaining the same business perimeter (or +2.6 percent including Chile). The results were driven by a solid evolution of more recurring revenue items, with a double-digit growth of the net interest income, and lower impairments on financial assets.

Last week during the 2019 first quarter results presentation, BBVA CEO Onur Genç outlined some of the continued progress the bank has been making in its digital transformation.

Onur Genç this week visited three of BBVA’s units in South America, in his capacity as BBVA Group CEO. His first stop was Bogotá, where he held a series of meetings with the teams of  BBVA in Colombia, which is led by Country Manager, Óscar Cabrera. The CEO stressed the franchise’s continued market share growth, with a 2 percent increase in seven years, to 10.25 percent. “A bank is only as good as its people. Congratulations on your achievements,” he said.

BBVA CEO Onur Genç continues his tour across the Group’s operating countries. After his visit to Spain and Mexico, last week he found himself in Turkey. During his visit to Garanti Bank, Genç was able to witness  firsthand the digital transformation progress that has been made by one of the bank’s leading digitization franchises, led by Fuat Erbil.

Carlos Torres Vila presented BBVA’s 2018 earnings in his first press conference as chairman of the bank. He stressed that the “positive results” were sustained by recurring revenues, cost containment efforts and the strength of the Group’s diversified business model. During the presentation, he also addressed the news published in some media outlets regarding services provided by Grupo Cenyt. The chairman made appeals not to “prejudge” the alleged news and to let the BBVA investigation “do its job”, which will be conducted with “rigor, diligence, and thoroughness” in order to shed light on the facts. In addition, he made assurances that “BBVA has been, is, and will continue to be an honest bank”

BBVA CEO Onur Genç, is still embarked on his tour across the different geographies in which the BBVA Group operates. After Spain, his next stop was Mexico, where he met with the BBVA Bancomer team, led by Eduardo Osuna.

Over the course of the work sessions, Onur Genç had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the business plans of BBVA’s Mexican franchise and discussed the countless milestones achieved by the bank in its transformation journey, with an ever increasing portfolio of digital products and services for private customers, corporates and public administrations. “What you have achieved as a team in Mexico is simply marvelous. In all metrics, BBVA Bancomer’s has done a wonderful job. You’re leading the way towards transformation,” he said.

Spain was the first stop in the tour BBVA’s new CEO is taking across the different markets where the Group operates.

Onur Genç met with those in charge of BBVA Spain, as well as the different multidisciplinary teams working on the development of next-generation digital products and services. “I was able to see first hand the commitment and dedication of the entire BBVA team in Spain. They are pioneers in many of the projects the Group launches,” he said.

Onur Genç represents BBVA’s global nature almost better than anyone else: a Turkish national working for a Spanish bank with global operations and aspirations. Having lived in 5 different countries, and having worked for BBVA in Turkey and the United States, Spain will become his new home next year, when he’s set to take over as BBVA Group’s CEO.

Carlos Torres Vila, CEO and future executive chairman of BBVA, and Onur Genç, who will take over as CEO and is currently head of BBVA in the U.S., will do “extraordinary things” together with the rest of the BBVA team, said Francisco González, chairman of the Group, speaking at an IESE event in New York.

Onur Genç has just been named the next CEO of the BBVA Group. He is excited, beyond happy and somewhat surprised. As the announcement is made public we meet him for a quick chat.

The Board of Directors of BBVA approved the succession plan for the company’s chief executive officer (CEO). Onur Genç, who is currently the CEO of BBVA Compass and U.S. country manager for BBVA, will replace Carlos Torres Vila as Group CEO. The succession is expected to take place on Dec. 31, 2018.

Onur Genç was named CEO of BBVA Compass and U.S. country manager for BBVA Group in January 2017. He also is responsible for BBVA operations in New York and the BBVA Bancomer Houston Agency.

BBVA Compass President and CEO Onur Genç has been on the job for just six months, but already, he sees a wealth of opportunity for BBVA in the U.S.

Although BBVA opened its first U.S. branch in New York City in 1988, it wasn’t until 2004, with the acquisition of a small Southern California bank, Valley Bank, that it rolled out its first retail banking operations in the U.S. Over the next two years, the acquisition of three more banks – Laredo National Bank, Texas State Bank and State National Bank – allowed BBVA to become a leading bank in Texas. By then, it was clear that BBVA was targeting the U.S. market as a pivotal element in its strategy to become a relevant global player. A reality that crystalized 10 years ago, with BBVA’s acquisition of Compass Bank in 2007.

Onur Genç’s appointment as BBVA Compass CEO and country manager marks the beginning of a new chapter for the BBVA Group’s franchise in the U.S. Genç is ready to take on the challenge of leading the digitization push, at a time when the prospects of rising interest rates could have a profound impact on the future of the industry. BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila, in Houston visiting the team at BBVA Compass, joined Genç for this interview. BBVA’s CEO underscored the bank’s commitment to the U.S. market, a region that accounted for 11 percent of the Group’s net attributable profit in 2016.

BBVA Compass today named Garanti Bank’s Onur Genç as its next CEO and announced that Manolo Sánchez will become its non-executive chairman, strengthening the management structure of the BBVA Group’s U.S. franchise.