Carlos Soria
Carlos Soria
BBVA has reached a milestone in its commitment to artificial intelligence, surpassing 1,000 data scientists on staff. To further enhance this talent, the bank offers them a professional development model that allows these professionals to advance in their careers without giving up their specialization. In this innovative approach, technical expertise is placed on equal footing with team management as a path for professional growth, allowing them to remain involved in AI development as they advance in their careers.
The bank published its latest ‘Green and Social Bond Report’ on fund allocation and the impact of its sustainable issuances through December 2024. BBVA allocated a total of €5.83 billion to environmental, social and governance (ESG) bonds through green initiatives, and €1 billion to projects with a social focus. This year, the amount of resources allocated to activities aligned with environmental criteria rose by 20 percent over the previous year.
BBVA has once again excelled in the stress test results published by the European Banking Authority (EBA) for the 2025-2027 period. This exercise takes place every two years and assesses banks’ ability to maintain minimum levels of capital and own funds in two scenarios: a baseline and an adverse scenario. In the baseline scenario, BBVA would generate 355 basis points of capital from December 2024 to December 2027, reaching a fully loaded CET1 ratio of 16.43 percent. In the adverse scenario, BBVA would lose 186 basis points of capital to reach a fully loaded CET1 ratio of 11.02 percent in December 2027. The impact of the adverse scenario on BBVA’s capital would be well below the average for the group of comparable European banks, demonstrating the Group’s strength and resilience.
Many European banks already have practices in place to detect, monitor, and manage climate risks, the second biggest concern for businesses. Frank Elderson, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, acknowledges the progress made but also admits that there is still a lot to do.
BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) posted record revenues of €3.194 billion in the first half of 2025, representing a 28% increase compared to the same period of 2024 (in constant euros, excluding the impact of hyperinflation accounting adjustments). All business units delivered double-digit growth: Global Markets (GM) rose 31% year-on-year; Global Transaction Banking (GTB) 17%; and Investment Banking & Finance (IB&F) 32%. BBVA CIB’s loan book expanded by 10% versus December 2024, driven by both transactional banking and IB&F, supported by landmark operations in project finance and corporate lending across Spain, Mexico, and the U.S. Attributable profit reached €1.553 billion, up 34% year-on-year. Profitability improved across key geographies, particularly in Spain, Continental Europe, and the U.S.
BBVA’s Turkish unit reported net income of TL 53.6 billion for the first half of 2025, according to consolidated financial statements as of June 30. Total assets grew to TL 3.82 trillion, while the bank provided TL 2.95 trillion to the economy through cash and non-cash loans. Customer deposits remained the primary source of funding, accounting for 69.5 percent of total assets. The deposit base expanded 26.7 percent in the first six months to TL 2.66 trillion. The bank maintained a robust capital adequacy ratio of 15.6 percent.* Return on average equity (ROAE) stood at 30.7 percent, while return on average assets (ROAA) was 3.1 percent.
*Calculated without the forbearance introduced by BRSA
Climate technologies are innovative solutions that aim to combat climate change by slashing emissions and capturing carbon from the atmosphere. According to experts, this industry could generate €600 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
Ami Vitale is an American photographer and filmmaker, and a National Geographic ambassador.She captures hopeful, inspiring stories about nature—and our connection to it. With multiple awards and a global following of over one million on Instagram, she is a leading voice in visual storytelling for sustainability.
BBVA has hired 23 recent graduates specializing in data for its technology teams. They were selected through the bank’s ‘Be Talent’ program, one of the main entryways for data specialists entering the Spanish job market. This innovative selection process evaluates not only the candidates’ technical skills and personal abilities, but also asks them to develop an analytical model for a real financial challenge in a ‘datathon’ that marks the final stage in the selection process.
BBVA has formalized a €25 million venture debt transaction with roadsurfer, a German company specializing in outdoor mobility. The financing aims to support the international expansion of the leading camper van rental platform and accelerate its growth across Europe and North America.
Opening photo generated with Midjourney (AI)
BBVA’s Turkish franchise has secured three accolades at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025, consolidating its position as a leader in sustainable banking and workplace inclusion across Central and Eastern Europe. The bank was named Best Bank for Diversity and Inclusion and Best Sustainable Finance Bank in the CEE region, and also took home the Best Sustainable Finance Bank award for Türkiye.
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 BBVA Group scooped 13 awards at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence ceremony held last night in London, attended by over 350 representatives from the international financial community. BBVA’s franchises in Mexico, Peru, Spain and Türkiye all received awards under various categories.
Carbon capture is one of the most promising cleantech solutions for the fight against climate change. Companies like Heirloom are revolutionizing this sector with technologies capable of extracting up to 320,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the air every year.
Cover photo: EFE
Garanti BBVA has become the first Turkish financial institution to adopt the Equator Principles, a globally recognized risk management framework used by over 130 financial institutions to assess and manage environmental and social risks in project finance.
BBVA leads Iberdrola’s new €2.5 billion sustainable credit facility as Agent Bank and Co-Coordinator
BBVA has acted as Agent Bank and Co-Coordinator in a new €2.5 billion syndicated credit facility signed this morning by Iberdrola with a total of 32 international financial institutions. The bank also served as Sustainability Coordinator. The transaction was oversubscribed by 45%, underscoring the strong support from the banking sector for the energy group's strategy.
‘Aprendemos juntos Kids’ launches its third season by taking the leap into animation. BBVA’s educational series explores the world of childhood emotions through stories to help children grow with a positive, curious and brave take on life.
BBVA Research ABN AMRO Bank and BNP Paribas Fortis' Prometis Lab have launched a new global research network based on financial transaction data. This non-profit platform seeks to generate real-time, high granularity economic information from anonymized data. Its goal is to monitor the economy in a timely and detailed manner and foster more informed and useful decision-making for society.
Responsible for 10 percent of global CO2 emissions, the fashion industry aims to reinvent itself with circular economic models. SYRE, a company in the H&M Group, is spearheading the change with a large-scale textile recycling system based on cleantech to reduce waste and decarbonize polyester production.
On Tuesday, 8 July, BBVA placed €1 billion in senior non-preferred (SNP) debt, with a five-year term maturing in 2030. Final demand amounted to €2.9 billion, before ultimately closing at €2.6 billion. The final price was set at mid-swap plus 85 basis points, significantly below the initial guidance of mid-swap plus 110 basis points, making it the lowest spread for an SNP achieved by a southern European financial institution in the past three years.
BBVA’s Turkish franchise has unveiled ‘My Banker,’ a new program aimed at delivering tailored financial services and lifestyle benefits to its affluent customer segment.
BBVA has unveiled its cryptocurrency trading and custody service for bitcoin and ether, which is now available to all retail customers of legal age in Spain. After filing the relevant disclosure with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the bank has been gradually rolling out the service in recent weeks. Customers can now use this service to trade in bitcoin and ether directly through the BBVA app, all within a fully integrated environment that also includes the bank’s other financial services.
In 2024, BBVA channeled €27 billion to boost the sustainable business and fund development projects in its emerging markets (Mexico, South America and Turkey), which represents a 60 percent increase over 2023. Meanwhile, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation allocated €1.5 billion in lending to vulnerable entrepreneurs in 2024.
BBVA is taking a strategic step in its digital transformation by expanding its long-standing collaboration with Google Cloud through the deployment of Google Workspace with Gemini, as part of the global bank’s comprehensive AI adoption strategy.
Within the framework of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), held from June 30 to July 3 in Seville, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (FMBBVA) is strengthening its position as a benchmark in development financing from the private sector. Of special note is its commitment to technological innovation to promote the progress of vulnerable entrepreneurs.
“Green hydrogen is a great opportunity to enhance the competitiveness of Spanish companies,” stated the Global Head of Sustainability Strategy, Industries and Cross-Border Business & CIB at BBVA, Roberto Albaladejo. Speaking at an event on green hydrogen held at Ciudad BBVA in conjunction with Hy24, Albaladejo added that Spain “is in an ideal position, with abundant renewable energy, robust industrial clusters and a clear public commitment” to scale up clean technologies like hydrogen.