BBVA is part of a European high level expert group charged with providing recommendations to the European Commission to promote sustainable financing in emerging countries and bridge the gap that currently exists in financing the SDGs. BBVA is the only private bank in this group, which will present its recommendations in mid-2023.

BBVA has created a new sustainable loan that focuses on reducing water footprint, a key priority in many companies' sustainability policies. Iberdrola, one of the world leaders in sustainability, is the first company to formalize this innovative solution in the sustainable financing market, which can be structured as a bilateral or syndicated loan.

This Monday, Carlos Torres Vila opened the 39th APIE Seminar in Santander, together with Nadia Calviño, the first Vice President of the Spanish government and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. The BBVA Chair said that “private investment will be fundamental to the decarbonization of the planet.” In this regard, he believes authorities play a crucial role in building “confidence, with certainty regarding the regulatory framework, the rules of the game, budgetary and fiscal stability, and competitiveness.”

Grupo DEME, a marine engineering company with a global presence, signed a €20 million sustainable financing agreement with BBVA. The loan is part of an extensive financing package that will enable the Belgian group to finance further investments in its dredging and environmental activities. Based in Zwijndrecht (Belgium) with over 5,200 employees worldwide, the company is reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and the environment.

In the past 15 years, around 1.5 billion adults have been included in the financial system, where microfinance has played a key role. Giovanni di Plácido, director of Analysis and Research for BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF), recounts the creation of loans and monetary transactions to the advent of microfinance as a formula for inclusion, and the Foundation's leading role in the transformation of this sector in its 15 years of activity.

Garanti BBVA recently renewed its syndicated loan with international markets. The agreement was signed with 30 banks from 16 countries for $594 million, and consists of two separate tranches of $283.5 million and €290.5 million, respectively, and a one year maturity.

Garanti BBVA recently completed its first derivative transaction linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria with Bank of America.

BBVA has acted as sole sustainability coordinator to the British construction and consultancy giant Mace which will allow them to formalise their sustainability financing criteria. The company linked two finance facilities to social and environmental KPIs.

Uber, Instagram, Twitter, and Google are some of the companies in which Lowercase Capital & Lowercarbon Capital's founders invested when they were startups. Chris and Crystal Sacca have invested in innovative startups for years, first in technology and more recently in the fight against climate change. As widely known investors, activists and philanthropists in the U.S., they devote a major effort to environmental protection.

The pandemic has shown the importance of having insurance to cover hospital expenses, temporary unemployment or death. These unexpected expenditures are a shock for people under vulnerable conditions and their household economy. Microinsurance are products tailored to address these needs and offer protection to low-income persons aiming to guarantee their well-being and security in the face of risks, all at affordable prices.

In line with the objective of BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking objective of supporting its clients in their transformation towards more sustainable business models, BBVA is launching a new carbon markets business line that offers its corporate clients the possibility of trading emission allowances and carbon credits.

Social taxonomy is the classification of economic activities that significantly contribute to social goals in the EU and represent a common code for investors, businesses and regulators regarding what is sustainable from a social perspective and what is not.

Garanti BBVA has signed a contract with Standard Chartered for $75 million with a maturity of 370 days. In doing so, it repurchased a repo transaction related to  Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), realizing the first repo transaction indexed to sustainability performance.

BBVA and North American Stainless (NAS), the U.S. subsidiary of the Acerinox Group, signed a $100 million deposit. It is a relevant operation for both companies as it is NAS’ first sustainability-linked deposit, and the first deposit of this kind that BBVA has signed with a U.S. client.

BBVA's CEO, Onur Genç, expressed BBVA's intention to go beyond financing and advising its customers in the transition to a sustainable future. At the IIF Sustainable Finance Summit, he announced that “BBVA will invest in promising innovative companies involved in decarbonization”.

INWIT, the leading Italian telecommunications tower operator, has taken another step forward in its commitment to sustainability by incorporating environmental and social criteria in its core revolving credit facility (RCF). BBVA acted as global and sustainability coordinator for this revolving credit line which involves a total of 10 lenders.

The District of Bogota signed a one trillion Colombian peso (about $253 million) social loan with BBVA, which is in turn secured by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, MIGA. This operation is the first that MIGA secures in local currency in Colombia and marks a milestone in the structured finance market for the country's public sector.

Garanti BBVA recently completed its first circular economy loan. The bank’s €18 million loan to Altek Metal forms part of its commitment to support the transition to a low carbon economy.

BBVA has supported PreZero Group in the structuring and arrangement of a term loan to finance its sustainable business activities.  The company approached BBVA due to its global vision and strategy towards sustainability.

Loans to wholesale, corporate and individual clients represent 71.6 percent (€61.4 billion) of the €86 billion BBVA has channeled in sustainable financing between 2018 and 2021. These loans are a fundamental part of the sustainable solutions promoted by the bank to identify the opportunities that arise from climate change and inclusive growth. The remaining 30 percent mainly comes from bond intermediation, project finance and socially  responsible investment.

BBVA has accelerated the volume of financing for sustainability-related projects, both for climate action and those that contribute to inclusive economic growth In 2021, the bank channeled 35.4 billion euros in sustainable finance, up 72% from 2020, and totaling 86 billion since announcing its sustainable finance commitment in 2018 This amount is 43% of the announced total target: 200 billion euros for the 2018-2025 period.

Garanti BBVA, one of Turkey’s leading banks in sustainable finance, has released its 2019 - 2020 Garanti BBVA Green Bond Allocation and Impact Report, in which the bank shares details of how it allocated the proceeds of its green bond issue and reports on the impact of funded projects.

As of January 2021, 12 percent¹  of BBVA’s new financing is connected to sustainability, according to the figures released on Investor Day, which was held last week. At this event, BBVA’s Global Head of Sustainability, Javier Rodríguez Soler, also announced that BBVA expects to channel over €35 billion in sustainable financing in 2021. This represents more than 70 percent growth from 2020. “Decarbonization, in particular, and sustainability, in general, represent the greatest transformation in the history of humankind,” Rodríguez Soler stressed. This phenomenon represents an “huge business opportunity” for BBVA and its shareholders.

As part of its commitment to Turkey’s green transformation, Garanti BBVA Leasing and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are offering $25 million in loans to eligible companies looking to invest in sustainability.

“Despite there being multiple initiatives, frameworks, standards and guidance tools, it is urgent to build a global system to measure the real impacts of businesses on society and the environment,” said BBVA Global Head of Responsible Business Antoni Ballabriga, speaking at an event organized by UNEP FI (UN Environment Program – Finance Initiative).

BBVA has advised Holcim, global leader of building solutions based in Switzerland, on the structuring and syndication of its main bank financing, as well as on how to link the financing to environmental, health and safety indicators. BBVA acted as global coordinator and sustainability coordinator in this new syndicated revolving credit facility, the first sustainable transaction that the bank has closed in Switzerland.

BBVA Chairman Carlos Torres Vila, met this Thursday at the bank's headquarters in Madrid with the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Mauricio Claver-Carone. This meeting is part of a series of working meetings that representatives of BBVA and the BBVA Microfinance Foundation will hold with members of the IDB. Sustainability was one of the issues on the agenda, in particular, support for the decarbonization of emerging countries, and especially in Latin America, as well as financial inclusion and the promotion of foreign investment in the region.

Garanti BBVA has obtained 1.8 million Turkish lira of annual savings thanks to a significant reduction in the energy used by its data center. This decrease was possible thanks to the implementation of innovative technologies that help to reduce its carbon footprint.