With the aim of reinforcing financial inclusion and the fight against poverty, Financiera Confianza – an entity of BBVA Microfinance Foundation – was formed in Peru. The results so far are very significant and most of its success derives from its clear mission: to promote the sustainable development of the most disadvantaged groups through responsible and productive finance. In other words, in keeping with BBVA’s purpose, Confianza seeks to place the opportunities of this new era within reach of everyone.

Today, May 30, the fifth edition of ‘Territorios Solidarios’ (Solidarity Territories) gets underway, a BBVA community service initiative in which current, retired and pre-retiree employees get to promote their favorite charitable causes throughout Spain.

Investors, customers and society in general are demanding increasingly higher levels of transparency. There is also regulation accompanying these new demands, as illustrated by the EU directives on non-financial information that will become applicable in 2017.

The head of Country Networks at BBVA, Vicente Rodero, underscored the bank’s excellent position to face the challenges European and Spanish banks have before them.

“Our geographic diversity, universal, customer-centric banking model, our focus on risk management and the development of new digital functionalities are key elements of our strategy. We aim to lead the transformation of banks in all the regions where we have a presence,” Vicente Rodero explained at an event organized by APD (Asociación para el Progreso de la Dirección) this morning in Bilbao.

The Urgent Spanish Foundation (Fundéu BBVA) has launched an application for mobile devices containing 300 tips for writing about economic and financial topics. Its aim is to help people who work in the sector and specialist journalists to use the correct language and convey information clearly and accurately.

A Mexican app called Aire offers real-time information on air quality, ultraviolet radiation and meteorological conditions.

BBVA does not only generate impact through its business activities. In 2015, BBVA dedicated 103.6 million euros to social initiatives. Education is a strategic priority in the Group’s social programs, and follows two lines of action: financial literacy for business, and education for social integration and training in values. It also runs initiatives to support entrepreneurship and culture, among other areas, which are described in detail in its annual report.

BBVA has spent years developing its Corporate Responsibility initiatives through a variety of different programs such as higher education and vocational training scholarships; entrepreneurial programs and personal finance literacy for high school students, businesswomen, and the general public; and an ambitious program to give backpacks to girls and boys throughout the country.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG-F) has chosen the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, along with three more Spanish institutions, as a case study in the guide it is preparing on the role of enterprise in achieving these goals.

Francisco González has presented Queen Letizia with the BBVA Microfinance Foundation’s “2015 Social Impact Report. Measuring what really matters”. Among other details, this report highlights that 32.5% of the people served by the entity escapes poverty two years after joining the entity, and after three years their sales increase by 57%.