People on the Move

BBVA allocated €191.5 million to social programs and initiatives in 2025 globally, an increase of 7.5 percent over 2024. 7.7 million people directly benefited from these activities, which mainly focused on education, accounting for 68 percent of the total resources. These efforts aimed to facilitate access to opportunities and support people and communities in their development.

Garanti BBVA recently unveiled the exhibition ‘We’ve Been in the Future for 80 Years,’ on June 2nd at a special event for the press. The exhibition at Salt Galata chronicles the bank’s extensive journey over eight decades – from its founding in Ankara in 1946 to its current role as a driver of modern banking. Designed as an interactive, immersive experience, the exhibition aims to tell the stories of the employees, customers and stakeholders who have shaped the bank over the years.

Javier Rodríguez Soler, Global Head of Sustainability and Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), has been named to American Banker’s inaugural “50 Most Innovative People in Finance” list. The recognition highlights his leadership in accelerating BBVA’s transformation through the integration of artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and sustainability across the bank’s global operations. American Banker also recognized BBVA’s deployment of generative AI tools and continued investment in digital banking and sustainable finance solutions.

The financial institution has been recognized in the first edition of the EPBN-WISE LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Awards as one of the European companies most firmly committed to LGBTIQ+ inclusion in the workplace. The award recognizes organizations that have implemented concrete measures to create safe, diverse, and inclusive working environments.

The AI Transformation area, which sits at the top level of the organization and will be led by Antonio Bravo combines the current Data area with critical technological capabilities to industrialize the creation, deployment and management of artificial intelligence (AI) agents across the organization. This evolution will accelerate the bank’s transformation and enable smarter, more proactive and highly personalized financial services for its customers.

BBVA and the University of Navarra have completed the first two industrial doctorates in data science under their joint program. This pioneering initiative enables working professionals to carry out advanced academic research into real challenges facing the financial sector. Both theses propose ways of developing AI models that can identify the causes behind financial decisions, not just the correlations.

Photo caption (from left to right): Paul G. Tobin, Global Head of Talent and Culture at BBVA; Paloma Grau, Vice President for Research and Sustainability at the University of Navarra; the newly awarded PhDs Paloma Marín and Jesús Renero; and Jesús López Fidalgo, Director of DATAI. / Source: University of Navarra

Twelve years after its last euro-denominated issuance, Brazil returned this year to the European market with a €5 billion sovereign transaction in which BBVA participated as bookrunner. Beyond the financing itself, the transaction represented a test for Brazilian sovereign credit: measuring the depth of investor demand, rebuilding euro benchmarks and executing with precision in an especially volatile environment.

Garanti BBVA has gone live with its BKM-integrated Request to Pay API, enabling businesses to manage collections directly from their own systems while offering customers a fast, easy, and seamless bill-payment experience. The solution was piloted in partnership with energy company Uludağ Elektrik.

BBVA consolidates its activity in sustainable financing by participating as Coordinating Lead Arranger in a USD 1,5 billion financing for Acelen Renewables, supporting the development of a renewable fuels plant in Brazil. The project, one of the most relevant sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) initiatives in the region, is expected to accelerate the decarbonization of the aviation sector, a key challenge in the global energy transition, and marks the bank’s first global transaction in this segment.

BBVA leads the European financial sector in the latest edition of Europe's Best Employers 2026, compiled by the Financial Times and Statista. It is also the highest-ranked Spanish company on the list.

As the climate summit to be held in November 2026 draws closer, Türkiye has emerged as the leading European country in championing energy storage—a key technology for ensuring energy security and accelerating the integration of renewable energy sources. Its firm commitment to battery systems and to modernizing electricity grids has afforded the country a strategic role within the wider energy transition taking place across Europe.

BBVA Mexico has closed its first green financing transaction with TRATON Financial Services Mexico for an amount of MXN 516 million. The company will use the proceeds to support its customers in advancing freight and passenger transport with a lower environmental impact through units equipped with Euro VI engines.

Garanti BBVA scooped three awards in the Central & Eastern Europe category of the World’s Best Investment Banks 2026 Awards announced by Global Finance. The bank cemented its regional standing by performing strongly in debt capital markets and infrastructure finance, building close relationships with international investors, and successfully executing transactions.

The BBVA Group ended the first quarter of 2026 with 5.4 percent growth in financing for companies (a segment that also includes the public sector) compared to December, surpassing €280 billion. This increase, above the 4.0 percent growth of the total loan portfolio¹, reflects the momentum in the segment and reinforces companies as one of the bank’s strategic priorities.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded BBVA’s long-term issuer default rating by one notch from A- to A. This upgrade is due to a methodological change under which the agency now uses senior preferred debt, instead of senior non-preferred debt, as the reference for this rating.

BBVA´s business unit dedicated to high-growth companies has provided approximately 1 billion euros in bank financing, establishing a model that aligns with the needs of entrepreneurs.

Garanti BBVA’s AI journey, launched in 2016, has evolved into Ugi, which today handles more than 6.4 million monthly interactions on average, has 1.6 million active users, and supports more than 300 end-to-end banking transactions. With the integration of generative AI, Ugi can now understand 90% of user requests. Over the past year, nearly 50% of mobile banking customers interacted with Ugi at least once, while the system delivered proactive solutions through 780,000 instant notifications per month.

Winners in five categories were announced at a gala ceremony on April 28, with Gurvita founder Bahar Şamhili Tanju named Woman Entrepreneur of Türkiye. The competition, organized by Garanti BBVA in partnership with Ekonomist magazine and KAGİDER, has received more than 50,000 applications since its launch in 2007.

BBVA has received The Banker’s award for Best Technology Bank in Western Europe, along with Best Bank-Fintech Partnership for its strategic agreement with OpenAI. These accolades from the Financial Times Group publication are a testament to the progress made in its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, the launch of its new app, and its digital model for entering new markets such as Germany.

BBVA is strengthening its commitment to growth in Germany with the appointment of Jürgen von der Lehr as Head of its Digital Bank in the country, a key role in adapting the bank’s value proposition in one of Europe’s largest and most competitive financial markets.

BBVA channeled €36 billion into sustainable business in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 33 percent over the same period in the previous year. Of this amount, €12.6 billion came from Spain. This activity allows the bank’s clients to gain access to financing and solutions for the energy transition, efficient resource use and social challenges. With this achievement, the bank has reached a total of €170 billion toward its €700 billion target for the 2025 – 2029 period.

BBVA Mexico and Fibra Macquarie have entered into an agreement for a US$200 million green financing facility aimed at funding the development of industrial properties certified under LEED, EDGE or BOMA standards. The company will also allocate the proceeds to continue investing in the conversion of stabilised assets into EDGE-certified properties.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already one of the main drivers of transformation in the financial sector and BBVA has been looking closely at how people incorporate it into their work. Training, new internal roles that promote its uptake, and a culture that encourages experimentation are some of the pillars of a strategy aimed at transforming how work is done across the organization.

Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş., announced its financial statements dated 31 March 2026. Based on the consolidated financials, the Bank’s net income in the first 3 months of the year recorded as TL 33 billion 615 million 247 thousand.

BBVA’s Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) area posted revenues of €2.185 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 24% compared to the same period in 2025 (at constant euros, excluding the accounting impact of the hyperinflation adjustment). All business units contributed to this performance, with double-digit year-on-year growth reflecting the strength and diversification of the area: Global Markets (GM), +31%; Global Transaction Banking (GTB), +17%; and Investment Banking & Finance (IB&F), +47%. Loan book also showed strong momentum, increasing by 9% compared to December 2025. This growth was driven by both IB&F, with particularly strong performance in Project Finance and Corporate Lending, especially in Europe and the United States; and GTB. In addition, attributable profit exceeded €1 billion for the first time in a quarter, reaching €1.083 billion (+24% year-on-year at constant euros, +18% year-on-year in current euros).

BBVA reported a profit of €2.99 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a 10.8% increase yoy (up 14.1% at constant exchange rates), supported by momentum in the banking business: customer loans grew 17% (at constant exchange rates), boosting net interest income by more than 20% yoy. This growth was accompanied by high levels of profitability and value creation for shareholders: ROTE stood at 21.7% and tangible book value per share plus dividends rose 18.1% yoy¹. All this with a solid capital position, with the CET1 ratio reaching 12.83% at the end of March. On May 6, BBVA will begin the final tranche of the extraordinary share buyback program, with a maximum amount of €1.46 billion.