This Wednesday, BBVA CEO Onur Genç emphasized the bank’s excellent performance in the first half of the year, and the sustainability of these metrics over time. He specifically pointed to improvement in profitability indicators, with an ROTE of 16.9 percent at the end of June 2023. “We have been delivering better than the competition - not only at the Group level, but at the country level,” he said during a conference for investors organized by Bank of America in London.

NFTs are unique and verifiable representations of digital assets, such as works of art, music, videos, virtual collectibles and other types of digital content, based on blockchain technology to guarantee their authenticity and ownership. Over 64 percent of those who purchase NFTs do so for profitability, while 12 percent are simply collectors.

BBVA has incorporated a new form of connection to its treasury solutions via API, reducing companies’ integration times for BBVA Pivot Connect by 80 percent. The first three APIs, available on BBVA Pivot, make it possible for companies to manage and trace payments to suppliers, track international payments, and check balances and transactions in accounts in any country.

BBVA Spark is the financial ally of high-impact companies and the partner of reference for the entire ecosystem of entrepreneurs. This unit, already present in Mexico, Spain and Colombia, will expand to the rest of the South American countries.

With BBVA financing, Supermercados Peruanos seeks to have a direct impact on the percentage of recycled waste and to increase the number of people benefiting from its food donation program ‘Bueno por dentro’ (Good on the inside).

Javier Rodríguez Soler, Head of Sustainability and Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) at BBVA, highlights in this article, published by EUROFI, the importance of the transition towards a greener and more inclusive economy in Europe.

The events aim to provide support and guidance for sectors and institutions impacted by both the European Green Deal and Carbon Border Regulation processes.

The prestigious publication has included BBVA among the best companies in the world in the first edition of this list put together in collaboration with Statista.The bank is the second Spanish company in the ranking and sixth bank worldwide. The ‘World’s Best Companies’ is a comprehensive list of the most remarkable organizations around the globe  in various sectors based on three dimensions: employee satisfaction, revenue growth and sustainability.

Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Red Hat, Cisco, IBM, Genesys, Salesforce and Telefónica all form part of BBVA's strategy of technological alliances. Thanks to these partnerships, BBVA has built up ways of working together, set up expert teams and developed cutting-edge tailor-made solutions with the most innovative tech companies, which are key to its growth and digitalization plans.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila stated that "the investment necessary for the economy to function without emissions must make economic sense, since a large part of it will come from the private sector." At a round table hosted by UNEP FI in Madrid, he stressed that "decarbonization will occur when investments in emerging green technologies prove profitable."

BBVA today placed $1 billion in an AT1 contingent convertible (CoCo) bond on the US market. The bond has a 6-year redemption option. The interest rate has been set at 9.375%, below the exit rate of 9.625%. Demand has tripled the initial offering, reaching $3.4 billion. This is BBVA’s second CoCo bond issue so far this year.

BBVA has invested 25 million dollars in a new round of financing from the venture capital fund Lowercarbon, which specializes in decarbonization. This new investment, added to a previous one of 20 million reaching a total of 45 million, will be allocated to disruptive solutions with enormous potential, including new technology based on nuclear fusion.

The main mission of BBVA's Security Operations team is to adopt all the necessary security measures in the face of an increasingly diverse cybercriminal reality. To this end, it has highly specialized teams in charge of assessing the security measures and processes implemented in the Group, as well as monitoring, detecting, and responding to any security risk or threat. Hundreds of hackers make up this team worldwide, organized into offensive, defensive, and transversal teams.

Although the most recent Gender Equality Report presented at the World Economic Forum recorded that Colombia has closed the gender equality gap by 75.1 percent, it is still a challenge to reach the figures of countries such as Iceland, which ranks first with 91.2 percent.

This pioneering initiative by Garanti BBVA will see this year a new category, ‘Women’s Cooperative of Türkiye’, aiming to recognize women’s efforts through cooperatives. Candidates may apply by filling out the form at www.garantibbvakadingirisimci.com until November 15, 2023.

The bank has launched an educational video channel aimed at children to supplement the shows shown on Learn together 2030 KIDS. The new proposition will target channels that cater to young audiences (YouTube Kids, TikTok, Instagram), with enticing content based on the Sustainable Development Goals

BBVA has become the first bank in Spain to make registration and login available to its customers at online retailers and service providers through a new Bizum service. This new way of operating online allows customers to streamline the processes related to registration and access to their personal accounts in companies, businesses, or digital providers. Consequently, it eliminates the need to enter data -such as email or passwords- and allows the entire process to be carried out by simply providing the telephone number associated with Bizum. Since BBVA integrated the Bizum service in 2016, more than four million of its customers use this solution daily to pay.

BBVA has relied on behavioral economics techniques to encourage employee participation in cybercrime training. The messages conveyed through the use of these techniques have effectively doubled interest in the course and, in some cases, increased course attendance by up to 70%. The initiative, which has been recognized by the Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists, will succeed in making the bank’s regular cybersecurity messages to its customers more effective.

BBVA today tapped the market for £300 million via a Tier 2 subordinated debt issue. The interest rate was set at UKT + 360 basis points, at the low end of the starting range (360-365 basis points). Demand reached £390 million. The issue drives forward BBVA's funding plan for 2023, in alignment with its strategy to optimize its capital structure. The issue was denominated in sterling to diversify the investor base.

BBVA has implemented a business banking service model that speeds up the response to the financial needs of multinationals when they expand into new markets. Employing more than 2,500 specialized managers, the new "Cross-Border" model cuts the requirements for opening non-resident accounts by up to 70 percent, thus drastically shortening the time required to set up new subsidiaries. BBVA Business Banking already works with more than 120,000 subsidiaries of business groups in 14 countries.

Garanti BBVA, a leading force in digitization in the Turkish banking industry, has announced the launching of Garanti BBVA Digital Assets,  the first venture of its subsidiary Garanti BBVA Financial Technologies. With a pilot already in progress, the company will initially provide services for transfer and custody of bitcoin and ether in the cryptoassets market.

From April to June 2023, BBVA channeled around €19 billion in sustainable business. This figure, showing growth of around 30 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, sets a new quarterly record. In total, BBVA channeled €169 billion in sustainable business from 2018 to June 2023, well over half of the €300 billion target laid down for the 2018-2025 period.

BBVA has stood out in the 2023 stress test of the European Banking Authority (EBA).  The exercise is carried out every two years and examines the banks’ capacity to maintain minimum capital levels and own resource requirements under two scenarios: a baseline and an adverse one. In the baseline scenario BBVA would generate 326 basis points, to a maximum fully-loaded CET1 of 15.87 percent as of December 2025. In the adverse scenario, BBVA would see a capital depletion of 295 basis points, to a fully-loaded CET1 of 9.66 percent. This impact is significantly lower than the average of the European banks surveyed (459 bps). BBVA is the third bank with lowest impact among its comparable group¹.

Garanti BBVA has released its earnings through June 30, 2023. The bank’s net income for the first half of the year totaled TL 33.81 billion; asset size stood at TL 1.89 trillion; and Garanti BBVA contributed TL 1.31 trillion to the economy through cash and non-cash loans. Customer deposits reached TL 1.40 trillion for the first six months of 2023, and remained the main source of funding, with 74 percent of assets funded by deposits. The bank’s capital position continues to be strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 15.8 percent.* Its return on average equity (ROAE) reached 38.3 percent and return on average assets (ROAA) was 4.2 percent.

Luisa Gómez Bravo will be the new CFO of the BBVA Group. She currently is the Global Head of Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), the group’s wholesale banking unit. Gómez Bravo will replace Rafael Salinas Martínez de Lecea, who is stepping down from his executive duties after a successful career with the bank spanning over three decades. He will continue to be involved with the Group as a board member of Garanti BBVA. Furthermore, the current Head of Sustainability, Javier Rodríguez Soler, takes on the additional role of Head of CIB.

BBVA’s Turkish unit has taken a step forward in its strategy to boost automotive sales over digital channels with the launch of a new digital loan for Renault and Dacia brand vehicle purchases. Now on offer to businesses and the self-employed via Garanti BBVA’s website and the smartphone app, the bank’s new financial product provides an end-to-end digital experience.

For the third time, BBVA's corporate banking has won the international publication's highest accolade in the latest edition of its 'World's Best Bank Awards', which set the standard for excellence in the financial sector.

Droughts are abnormally dry periods, in which multiple factors are involved and which have important consequences for the environment and societies. An estimated 55 million people are directly affected by droughts every year, and they could harm as many as three out of four people worldwide by 2050, according to the UN. BBVA delves into this complex phenomenon in the new report 'Cuando falta el agua: claves para hacer frente a la sequía' (When water is scarce: keys to face drought).

BBVA has signed the sale of a portfolio of unsecured non-performing loans. This portfolio has an approximate gross value of €500 million. The sale will have a positive impact on the bank’s NPL ratio in Spain.

BBVA’s Turkish unit is launching the ‘Women who know their accounts’ program as part of its strategy for inclusive growth. The aim of the program is to support women who are not familiar with banking services, to help them discover their potential and ensure a more active participation in economic life. The program will support them by providing training in basic financial matters and in managing their personal finances.

The U.S., China and Europe are leading the development of this technology, which uses principles of quantum physics to perform calculations and information processing and has the potential to solve complex problems.

Presentation in March 2023 of the agreement to install a quantum computing center in San Sebastian, which will house the sixth IBM Quantum System One computer in the world. Image: EFE /Javier Etxezarreta

The BBVA Group, through its management entity Gestión de Previsión de Pensiones (GPP), has been one of the five management firms selected to manage the new government-sponsored occupational pension funds that the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration put out to tender on June 9th. GPP will manage three of the new pension funds. These savings vehicles aim to promote complementary social insurance among companies, institutions and the self-employed, with the goal of reaching €500 million under management after three years.

BBVA Mexico congratulates SHCP—the Mexican Treasury—on issuing a new sustainable bond known as 'BonoS.' With a fixed rate and a 12-year term, the bond is denominated in local currency. The issue attracted total demand of MXN 39,443 million, an oversubscription of 1.71 times. Both domestic and foreign investors placed orders.

BBVA, Banco Santander and CaixaBank have joined forces to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing the banking sector, financial fraud. The three Spanish banks are working on tools to exchange relevant information and data to help prevent financial crime.

BBVA plans to invest in Suma Capital’s 3rd Sustainable Investment Fund, which specializes in the energy transition, the circular economy and in particular waste management for energy production: biogas and biomethane. The financial institution is investing in this reference fund for sustainable infrastructure in Spain as part of its investment strategy for climate funds. Through these investments, BBVA is contributing to the decarbonization of the planet.

The bank extends leave to its employees to care for sick family members, to accompany a partner in prenatal check-ups, to take young children in their first week of school, pregnancy protection measures to care for children or adoption and foster care processes. These are some of the improvements incorporated in BBVA's new Equality Plan, which also includes protocols against harassment in the workplace and non-discrimination of the LGTBI community.

BBVA and Tiendas Ara, a major chain of discount stores,  have teamed up to offer a new line of social-impact reverse factoring. The aim is to provide Ara’s suppliers, mainly micro, small and medium-size companies, with access to more affordable finance solutions. In line with the commitment to narrow inequalities and build lasting relationships with local suppliers to boost domestic production and foster job creation, Tiendas Ara is the first company to join this initiative in Colombia.

Garanti BBVA has signed a new agreement with Enterprise Türkiye to encourage the use of electric mobility and car rentals. Within the scope of this collaboration, the bank is offering its customers an ecommerce loan, namely a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) loan, to rent energy-efficient electric vehicles with a low carbon footprint.