The European Union continues to redouble its focus on sustainable finances and as part of this strategy the European Parliament last week held a forum attended by the main players in the financial world, among them BBVA through the presence of Antoni Ballabriga, Global Head of Responsible Business at the Bank.

The banking industry is taking another step towards laying the groundwork to tackle the climate change threat with a new set of tools. The groundbreaking methodologies published today, aimed at helping the banking sector understand and manage the adverse effects and the opportunities of climate change in their loan portfolio. The methodologies are the result of a joint effort by sixteen leading global banking institutions – including BBVA – and Acclimatise, a UK-based climate change advisory.

BBVA Momentum 2018, BBVA’s social entrepreneurship supporting program has concluded the final list with the names of the 76 social companies invited to take part in this year’s edition.

On February 28, BBVA unveiled its climate change and sustainable development strategy ‘Pledge 2025’. A cornerstone of this pledge is the sector norms which enable the bank to address specific matters of sustainability with particular environmental and social impact (mining, energy, infrastructure and agribusiness) and provide clear guidance on the procedures to follow in the management of clients and transactions in these sectors. These rules embody the Commitment to Human Rights that BBVA took on board in 2008 and which has recently been updated.

BBVA Compass has selected 16 social entrepreneurs from across the country to participate in its BBVA Momentum accelerator program, designed to help participants enhance their operations to impact the lives of more people.

BBVA is committed to providing the best solutions for its customers, profitable and sustained growth for its shareholders, and to collaborating in the progress of communities where it operates. The aim is to make reality the Group's vision, which can be summed up with the idea of working for a better future for people.

Last Sunday, June 17, the BBVA Communication team and their families took part in "1m2 por la naturaleza" initiative, the great collaborative garbage collection in Spanish ecosystems.

BBVA has joined RE100, a collaborative, global initiative uniting the world’s most influential businesses committed to sourcing 100% of their power consumption from renewable sources before 2050. In doing so, businesses convey a powerful message to policymakers and investors: We need to expedite the transition towards a zero-emissions economy.

BBVA Compass last week announced that Celie Niehaus had been named as its Chief Compliance Officer and newest member of the bank’s management committee. Niehaus has a long history in risk management across multiple financial institutions. We took some time to sit down with her to understand how a largely regulatory function like compliance could contribute to the digital aspirations of a financial institution. As it turns out, compliance, just like banking, is itself in a state of evolution. To find out more, read on.

BBVA Compass is teaming up with nonprofits to build a comprehensive network of financial education offerings, with the goal of giving 20,000 low- to moderate-income individuals and families the knowledge they need to take better control of their financial lives.