Close panel

Close panel

Close panel

Close panel

Economy

Economy

On Thursday, April 10, BBVA will pay a supplementary dividend of €0.41 per share. Added to the interim dividend paid in October, the total payout for 2024 rises to €0.70 per share, the bank’s highest since 2007. BBVA has also announced a €993 million share buyback.  Through dividends and the buyback, the bank will return a combined €5.03 billion to shareholders this year, half of its 2024 profit.

On Friday, BBVA held its Annual General Meeting in Bilbao, where the Chair, Carlos Torres Vila, took stock of an excellent year. During his presentation, he underscored that BBVA, “with its strategic plan, aims to consolidate its business growth, multiply its contribution to society and create value for everyone.” In his opinion, it is crucial that Europe and Spain have banks with the right scale to take on the challenges posed by the new global landscape. In this context, BBVA is proposing the integration with Banco Sabadell as a “clear commitment to Spain and its companies.” Carlos Torres Vila stressed that with this transaction “both BBVA and Banco Sabadell shareholders will become the owners of a bank better prepared for the future.”

On Friday, March 21st at 12:00 PM (CET), BBVA will hold its 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Euskalduna Conference Center in Bilbao (Spain). BBVA is making it easier for its shareholders to participate in the AGM by offering a hybrid model, combining in-person attendance with the option of remote participation. To participate remotely, shareholders need to register in advance on the Remote Attendance Portal. Furthermore, the bank’s corporate website will broadcast the event via webcast.

For yet another year, the bank stood out among comparable European peers for its unique combination of growth of its lending portfolio (14 percent yoy in constant euros), and profitability, with ROTE of 19.7 percent. In 2024 the Group added 11.4 million new customers and channeled €99 billion in sustainable business, reaching the €300-billion¹ goal one year ahead of schedule. Between January and December, BBVA posted a net attributable profit of €10.1 billion, up 25 percent. Earnings per share² saw a higher increase, 28 percent, on the back of a share buyback. Against 2024 earnings, BBVA will pay a cash dividend of €0.70 per share³, 27 percent more than in 2023, and will execute a new share buyback program for €993 million⁴. In total, BBVA will distribute €5.03 billion to its shareholders.

¹Accumulated since 2018.
²Earnings per Share (EPS) figures considering end of period number of shares.
³Of this amount, €0.29 per share were paid in October as interim dividend of 2024. The additional payout of €0.41 per share is subject to the approval by the bank’s governing bodies.
⁴Subject to approval from the bank’s governing bodies and from corresponding regulators.

Garanti BBVA has successfully completed a new Basel III-compliant Tier 2 bond issuance, demonstrating the bank’s strong position in international markets. This marks its second Tier 2 bond this year. The bond was issued with a 10-year maturity, a five-year call option, and a total value of $750 million. Garanti BBVA also extended a tender offer to its investors for the $750 million nominal value of the Tier 2 bond it issued in 2017, with a 2027 maturity.

BBVA shareholders will receive on Oct. 10 a gross dividend, against 2024 earnings, of €0.29 per share, 81 percent higher than a year earlier. This is the highest interim dividend to be paid by BBVA to date. The bank will thus distribute about €1.7 billion in cash to shareholders. Following this dividend, from 2021 BBVA will have distributed about €15 billion in dividends and share buybacks.

In order to take the service and customer experience to the next level, BBVA creates two specialized global areas for each customer segment: Commercial Client Solutions, which will be led by Jaime Sáenz de Tejada; and Retail Client Solutions, with David Puente at the helm. Additionally, the bank is creating a global unit at the highest level of the organization, Digital Banks, which will be headed by Murat Kalkan. All of these units will report directly to Onur Genç, CEO of BBVA. The bank also announces other changes at the first executive level of the Group.

BBVA Research is forecasting GDP growth of 2.6 percent for Catalonia in 2024, outpacing the average for Spain (2.5 percent). It also reckons that GDP will grow by 2.1 percent in 2025, supported by a wider economic improvement across Europe, albeit shackled by tourism, which is nearing maximum capacity in peak season. If these forecasts are met, in 2025 the GDP of the Catalan economy would be 7 points above the 2019 level. This growth comes on the back of a strong services sector, coupled with a recent improvement in industry, which are managing to offset weak exports of goods. For the third year running, Catalonia has outperformed Spain when it comes to GDP growth, as reflected in the creation of new jobs, with more sizable increases seen in Barcelona and Girona. In addition, the unemployment rate might well fall to 8.3 percent in 2025 and 192,000 new jobs could be created by the end of 2025. According to these forecasts, Catalonia is expected to create the most new jobs over this year and the next.

BBVA has convened an Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting on July 5th¹ at the Euskalduna Conference Center in Bilbao. The bank is proposing to its shareholders the capital increase needed to proceed with the share exchange with Banco Sabadell. This capital increase will consist of issuing new BBVA shares that will be given to Banco Sabadell shareholders who take up the offer. BBVA shareholders are not required to make any disbursements.

BBVA’s Board of Directors is presenting an offer to Banco Sabadell shareholders so they can benefit from an exceptionally favorable proposal. The deal offers one BBVA share for every 4.83 of Sabadell, representing a 30 percent premium over the closing price of both banks on April 29th, and a 50 percent premium over the weighted average prices of the past three months. The transaction has very positive financial impacts thanks to relevant synergies and the complementarity and excellence of both banks. The operation will create one of the best banks in Europe, with a loan market share close to 22 percent in Spain. Furthermore, BBVA will maintain its current shareholders distribution policy and its commitment to distribute any excess capital above 12 percent.

At the presentation of first-quarter results, CEO Onur Genç said that BBVA expects improved profit both this year and next year compared to the same period of 2023. Specifically, "Our outlook for net attributable profit this year improves to double-digit growth. I see an even better 2025 versus 2024," he said. Genç also anticipates higher recurring revenue in the BBVA Group account in 2024, thanks to an improvement in the forecast for net interest income in Spain.

The contingent convertible capital instruments (CoCos) also known as Additional Tier 1 bonds are  hybrid bonds that combines debt and equity elements. Its defining characteristic is that it may be converted into shares if the CET1 capital ratio drops below a specific level.

BBVA contributed a record €7,668 million in own taxes in 2023 across all the countries in which it operates.  A further €5,950 million was also collected from third parties, making a grand total of €13,618 million in taxes, the highest tax contribution ever recorded by the bank. In Spain alone, BBVA paid a total of €1,191 million in its own taxes. With third-party taxes included, the bank contributed €3,384 million to the public treasury. This effort reflects BBVA's commitment to the social and economic well-being of the countries within its footprint and its strong support for local economies.

In the past two years, BBVA added 7,187 professionals in the data and technology field to its workforce - a figure it plans to increase in 2024 with 2,700 new hires. Of this amount, 1,225 will take place in Spain for the bank’s headquarters in Madrid, Bilbao and Barcelona. Technology talent has become a key aspect of the Group’s digital strategy.