People on the Move

The Bank of Spain has informed BBVA of its new minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), the regulatory framework that requires banks to have sufficient funds to absorb losses in case of crisis.  Starting June 12, 2025, BBVA must maintain a buffer of 23.13 percent of the total risk-weighted assets (including the parent company, BBVA S.A and its subsidiaries in Europe). With an MREL ratio of 33.20 percent at the end of March 2025, the bank already far exceeds this threshold, and also meets the additional requirements for subordination and capital buffers.

Kay Firth-Butterfield, CEO of Good Tech Advisory and former Head of Artificial Intelligence at the World Economic Forum, reflected at BBVA’s FinAI Summit on the challenges of responsible artificial intelligence and on the kind of relationship society wants to forge with this technology: AI is not our best buddy or our partner, she stated, even though 20 percent of men in the United States have used it at some point “as a romantic partner, the person they talk to, the person they love. Is that the future we want with this technology?”.

Scaling up ‘cleantech’ (also known as clean technologies) means expanding innovative projects, those that aim to decarbonize the economy, so they can grow and adapt to market demand. To do so, adequate financing is fundamental in order to produce and distribute this technology at a greater scale and lower cost, boosting competitiveness and the reindustrialization process. According to Cleantech for Europe, banks remain, by far, “the largest financial institutions in Europe” contributing to this effort.

Garanti BBVA has contributed over $440 million in support to the Turkish economy by renewing its existing syndicated loan.

The first edition of Global Finance AI in Finance Awards named BBVA the best bank in Spain for its artificial intelligence strategy, both within the organization and in its financial solutions for individuals. The publication also recognized one of BBVA’s revenue forecasting tools as the top AI risk management solution in Mexico and Latin America.

Image generated with Artificial Intelligence (Midjourney)

BBVA Spain’s CEO, Peio Belausteguigoitia, made the case on Tuesday that the proposed integration with Banco Sabadell is a transaction to drive growth, and makes strategic sense. It fits with the bank’s vision for the future, seeking to create value for all stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders and society as a whole. Speaking at the 20th IESE Banking Forum in Madrid, he stated that “the proposed integration with Banco Sabadell is a commitment to unite and combine the strengths of both banks in order to create a better financial institution than each bank on its own.”

Photo: The Country Manager of BBVA in Spain, Peio Belausteguigoitia, and Juan Rivera, Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting.

With the latest update to Garanti BBVA’s mobile app, customers can leave their cards at home. GarantiPay allows users to make payments in stores or online using the GarantiPay and NFC contactless payment options  on their smartphones.

With global reach, sector-specific expertise and sophisticated financial solutions, BBVA CIB reaffirms its role as a strategic partner for the institutional segment. Its model combines technical capabilities, a sustainability focus and international coverage to meet investment, risk management and transition needs with precision.

BBVA’s smart  ‘discrete mode’ in its app detects when more than one pair of eyes is looking at the screen and hides sensitive information. Therefore, you can do your banking and view and manage your cards anywhere, while keeping your financial data private, making it illegible to onlookers and possible cybercriminals. Below we tell you how to activate this feature.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila announced a record-breaking investment plan at the opening of the National Meeting of Regional Advisors (RNCR) of BBVA Mexico, the financial institution’s most important meeting in the country.  In front of more than 500 members of the business community, the Chair reported that BBVA is now making an even more ambitious announcement: “more than 100 billion pesos by 2030”, approximately €4.57 billion. “It is not only an investment. It’s trust. It’s a long-term vision. It’s a commitment to the more than 30 million customers we serve in the country,” he said.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila explained why the union with Banco Sabadell will have a positive impact on the public interest and is beneficial for the customers of both banks, their shareholders and employees, and society as a whole. “It's a positive move for Catalonia, Spain, and Europe,” he said last week in a series of interviews with Cadena COPE, RAC1 and El Periódico. Torres Vila emphasized that Banco Sabadell customers will have access to a network of more than twice as many branches and almost three times as many ATMs, a wider range of products, greater ease for international expansion for companies, and a bank with greater lending capacity (up to an additional €5 billion per year).  It is also a good deal for employees, who will have more opportunities, and for shareholders, who will benefit from a transaction that will lead to higher earnings per share and greater stability given BBVA's geographical diversification.

The BBVA Group has accomplished its 2025 Community Investment Objective a year ahead of schedule, aimed at fostering the development of the societies in which it operates. Between 2021 and 2024, the financial institution channeled €594 million into social endeavors, reaching out to nearly 106 million people

Jaime Sáenz de Tejada, Global Head of Commercial & Institutional Client Solutions, stated that “one in four companies in Spain chose BBVA in 2024, a figure that is even more impressive in Catalonia, where one in three companies chose BBVA.”

The cross-border business is emerging as a key driver for companies seeking global expansion beyond their domestic markets. Within this evolving landscape, BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) provides expert advice, tailored financial solutions, and an extensive global network that connects major financial hubs with emerging markets. Through an innovative approach and comprehensive risk management, the bank supports its clients’ international growth.

BBVA is launching a new version of its app in Spain, with a unique native code that is scalable and exportable to all countries where the bank operates. This technological overhaul, which  includes an ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) integration, marks a turning point in digital banking. It represents a decisive commitment to personalization, with a radically enhanced user experience. The new app multiplies the benefits of being a customer: direct access to cards and Bizum to make fast, simple payments, personalized savings plans and a financial coach to help manage finances, among other new developments.

The leading publication of financial information, of the Financial Times Group, presented BBVA its Technology Award for the world’s best bank for technology use. The Group’s new data platform, ADA, also received an award for the best banking transformation project in the world.

Garanti BBVA Asset Management has succeeded in building an investment fund topping 600 billion TL in the year to date, thanks to a consistently strong performance and the trust and support of its investors.

Historian Josephine Quinn is the first woman to lead the Ancient History department at the University of Cambridge. She is also an honorary member of Wadham College and an emeritus fellow at Worcester College, both at the University of Oxford. Quinn is a well-known expert on the ancient Mediterranean, and her work questions many traditional ideas about identity, culture, and civilization.

The bank has expanded its partnership with the tech giant from 3,300 to 11,000 ChatGPT Enterprise licences, as part of its plan to extend generative AI capabilities across the entire organisation. Employees report that automating routine tasks with this tool allows them to save an average of nearly three hours of work per week, which they can then dedicate to strategic tasks. More than 80% of licensed users use it daily. BBVA offers training, has created a community to share best practices, and encourages internal innovation through idea ‘hackathons’.

The first edition of BBVA’s FinAI Summit brought together international experts in artificial intelligence to address how its transformative potential should advance in parallel with its ethical, safe and responsible use. The financial sector must carry out its transformation without losing customers’ trust. Doing so requires a gradual, regulated approach that maintains human interaction, just like BBVA is already doing. Over 6,000 people attended the event in person and online.

You can watch the full event at finaisummit.com

The current geopolitical context, combined with the urgent need to finance the green and digital transitions in Europe, makes it increasingly necessary to unlock the full potential of the EU’s currently fragmented capital markets. The goal is to make them more efficient and better equipped to compete with more developed markets elsewhere.

The Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has authorized, in phase two and after 11 months of analysis, the combination of BBVA and Banco Sabadell. With this transaction the combined entity would result in the second-largest Spanish financial institution in terms of credit volume, after CaixaBank. The authorization is subject to a series of unprecedented remedies in the Spanish financial sector.

From May 5 to 8, BBVA will organize the first FinAI Summit, featuring talks, panel discussions and master classes, in an event designed to be the key forum on how AI could reshape financial services and products, and how this could impact society at large. Speakers will include international experts such as Kay Firth-Butterfield, previously head of artificial intelligence at the World Economic Forum. The public can attend online by registering on the FinAI Summit website.

You can register for the event at this link

In the first quarter of 2025, BBVA channeled approximately €29 billion into sustainable business initiatives, marking a 55 percent increase on the same period in 2024. This figure is part of the bank’s new target of channeling €700 billion into the sustainable business between 2025 and 2029, more than  double its previous target and also raising the bar, given the shorter timeframe involved (five years versus eight).

Garanti BBVA reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2025. The bank earned TL 25.40 billion in net income, with total assets reaching TL 3.50 trillion, and cash and non-cash loans totaling TL 2.60 trillion. Customer deposits continued to be the main source of funding, accounting for 73 percent of all assets. The deposit base rose by 21.4 percent to TL 2.55 billion. Furthermore, Garanti BBVA achieved a return on average equity (ROAE) of 30.5 percent, and a return on average assets (ROAA) of 3.2 percent. Meanwhile, the bank maintained its strong capital position, with a capital adequacy ratio of 16.2 percent.*

*Not including the forbearance introduced by BRSA

Luisa Gómez Bravo and Onur Genç took part in a recent episode of the Chief Future Officer Show, aired by Bloomberg Television and focusing on the role played by chief financial officers in companies. In the episode, BBVA’s Global Head of Finance cited the bank’s growth plans, especially its impending combination with Banco Sabadell in Spain, as well as its entry into Italy and Germany with a digital banking model: “It’s about delivering amazing profitability and returning that to shareholders, while continuing to invest.”