Matrix Renewables, the TPG Rise-backed global renewable energy platform, and BBVA have announced the closing of €40 million in sustainable financing to begin the construction of two solar plants, Zaratán and Arroyadas, in the municipality of Valladolid, in northwest Spain. The new plants will lead to the creation of 500 local jobs during the construction phase.

Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli, a Professor at the University of California in Berkeley, was presented the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Information and Communication Technologies for “radically transforming” the design of chips that power today’s electronic devices, leading to “the modern semiconductor industry.”

The three award-winning scientists “have expanded knowledge of the evolutionary importance of behavior as a driver of animal survival, reproduction and adaptation,” and have demonstrated the need to incorporate social interactions into species conservation plans, according to the committee of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Ecology and Conservation Biology category.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila spoke of the vital role that banks play in the economy when presenting the 2022 results. “Banks act as catalysts of activity by granting credit to the real economy,” he said. “This may be banks’ greatest contribution to society,” he added. In this regard, he underlined that in 2022, the BBVA Group granted nearly €200 billion in new financing to businesses. At the press conference, BBVA CEO Onur Genç also shared the bank’s outlook for 2023.

Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş., Garanti BBVA, announced its financial results for the year ending on December 31, 2022. The bank’s net income stood at TL 58.51 billion, while asset size was TL 1.3 trillion.

The BBVA Foundation awarded the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine in this fifteenth edition to David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper “for their contributions to the use of artificial intelligence for the accurate prediction of the three-dimensional structure of proteins.” In the words of the committee, the winners achieved an advance with huge biomedical potential for the development of new treatments against multiple conditions.

Sustainability and with it inclusive growth are at the center of Garanti BBVA's strategy. As part of its efforts, the bank continues to support the EU Green Deal harmonization process in Türkiye, hosting a themed program of events titled ‘Sustainable Future in Exports.’

Garanti BBVA customers are now able to use the Garanti BBVA mobile app and Internet Banking to access information from their accounts at other banks. The regulation of open banking has made this a possibility. Customers can view their account activity and balances without having to log into each bank separately, and can even transfer money between accounts.

“It's the determined action in the countries where this foundation is present, and above all, the real transformation in so many peoples' lives, that urge us to hope and strengthens us,” Her Majesty said during the ceremony held to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF). BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila said, "in recent years the Microfinance Foundation has made a commendable effort to bring digitalization and connectivity to microentrepreneurs and their communities, as a driver of development and a gateway to opportunities." The event also served as the occasion to premiere the documentary 'After the Rain,' a tribute to the courage and resilience of the more than six million vulnerable people that the Foundation has supported over these past fifteen years.

For the eighth consecutive year, BBVA's Turkish unit is the only company from Türkiye to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). The bank has made it into the DJSI Emerging Markets category every year since 2015, and this year repeated its success with a record score of 82 points, the sixth-highest among global financial institutions.

At the 18th edition of the ‘IMI Conference Turkish Contact Center Awards’, Garanti BBVA was recently presented the award for the ‘Best Digital Solution’. The event was held as part of the Turkey Communication Center Days. All sectors using call center services participated in the competition.

The British publication, which is part of the Financial Times group, selected the BBVA Group as the Global Bank of the Year. The Banker also recognized BBVA as the Best Bank in Western Europe, Spain, Peru and Colombia. The magazine pointed to the Group’s strong financial fundamentals and innovation and sustainability strategies, which put it ahead of its peers.

Garanti BBVA, the BBVA Group’s Turkish franchise,  integrates climate change and inclusive growth within its core strategies. In line with that commitment, Garanti BBVA has launched a program of events called 'Sustainable Future in Exports' to support Türkiye’s adaptation to the European Green Deal and pave the way to sustainable investment. At the first event, held on November 23, 2022 at Fişekhane Istanbul, the bank explained the European Green Deal and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to the sectors and institutions–especially SMEs–that will be affected by the new rules governing exports to the EU.

Garanti BBVA has renewed a $400 million syndicated loan in separate tranches of $155 million and €238.5 million maturing at 367 days. The syndicate of international lenders comprises 23 banks from 13 countries.

BBVA has explored the potential of blockchain technology as a major catalyst to create value in finance 2.0 for the past six years and is confident of its ability to build a more advanced society in economic and social terms. Alfonso Gómez, CEO of BBVA Switzerland,  spoke recently at the Fifth Blockchain and Digital Asset Forum hosted by online publication El Confidencial and sponsored by Grant Thornton, Allfunds, Criptan and Metrovacesa. Alfonso explained the key points of digital assets, discussed the role and responsibilities of traditional banks in this new space, and pointed out the opportunities that are now emerging.

You can watch the event delayed here.

Garanti BBVA has entered a strategic partnership with Erguvan, the country’s first and only digital carbon credit trading platform to accelerate compliance for its export clients and help them meet the target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.

Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş., reported its results for the first nine months of the year. The bank posted a net income of TL 38.73 billion from January - September 2022, with total assets reaching TL 1.22 trillion and lending amounting to TL 873.29 billion through cash and non-cash loans.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Garanti BBVA’s Head of Customer Solutions and Digital Banking Işıl Akdemir Evlioğlu analyzed the latest developments in digitization and mobile banking, as well as the bank’s investments in this field, following 15 years of mobile banking.

The Group’s Turkish franchise adds a different dimension to its work on sustainability and inclusive growth, two areas at the center of its strategy.

BBVA Research has revised upward its estimate of Spanish GDP growth for 2022 to 4.4 percent (from the 4.1 percent forecast three months ago), although its outlook has deteriorated for 2023, when growth is expected to reach just 1 percent (from the previous 1.8 percent). This is according to the latest 'Situación España' report, presented today by Jorge Sicilia, Director of BBVA Research and BBVA's Chief Economist; Rafael Doménech, Head of Economic Analysis; and Miguel Cardoso, Chief Economist for Spain.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila opened the Edufin Summit 2022 this Thursday, with a focus on inclusive and sustainable growth via training in digital skills. At this forum, he announced that BBVA will train two million people in financial education between 2021 and 2025, doubling the initial target.

The British publication has once again recognized BBVA as the bank with the best real estate solutions in the region. Furthermore, Euromoney named the Peru and Argentina franchises as finalists in their respective countries, thanks to their home loans.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila will open the next EduFin Summit, the international financial education event hosted by BBVA's Center for Financial Education and Capability, which will take place on September 29 and 30. Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, will participate in the opening ceremony. The conference will be held for the first time in two countries: Spain and Mexico.

BBVA's Turkish franchise is one of the main drivers of renewable energy projects in the country.

As part of its initiatives to combat the climate crisis and work towards a sustainable world, Garanti BBVA has presented the first activity report of its ‘Blue Breath Project’ in alliance with the Deniz Temiz Association/TURMEPA. The 9-month undertaking has promoted awareness training on waste surface cleaning in the Marmara Sea as well as sea cleaning in the provinces of the region to prevent marine pollution.

The southern Swiss city of Lugano has stepped up cryptocurrency use and is developing new infrastructure to adopt Bitcoin, Tether and its own LVGA token as legal tender. In the coming months, Lugano residents will be able to use cryptocurrencies to pay their taxes and make purchases at more than 200 local businesses.

Garanti BBVA makes it a top priority to make life easier for customers, including people with disabilities. That is why the bank now provides hearing-impaired customers with fast, user-friendly access to a live support assistant over its mobile app.

World Finance, one of the world's leading business and finance magazines, named Garanti BBVA ‘Türkiye's Best Retail Bank’ for the eighth consecutive time. The Turkish franchise was also singled out as ‘Europe's Best Retail Bank’ for the fifth time.

BBVA’s Global Head of Sustainability, Javier Rodríguez Soler, has been appointed Chair of the Advisory Board of the bank’s Center for Financial Education and Capability. The center, now celebrating its fifth anniversary, supports financial education as a tool to contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth.

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.

BBVA's research unit revises its Spanish GDP growth forecasts for 2023 downward from 3.3% to 1.8% but keeps its estimate for 2022 unchanged at 4.1%. This reflects the scarcity of some raw materials and rising commodity prices generally, with the consequent increase in production costs already feeding through to inflation. In addition, the financial burden on businesses and families is expected to become heavier as the European Central Bank (ECB) moves forward with the withdrawal of quantitative easing. These trends are analyzed and discussed in the latest ‘Spain Economic Outlook’ report, presented by Jorge Sicilia, Director of BBVA Research and BBVA's Chief Economist, Rafael Doménech, Head of Economic Analysis, and Miguel Cardoso, Chief Economist for Spain.

Joy Macknight, editor of The Banker, spoke with Alfonso Gómez, the CEO of BBVA Switzerland, to discuss the details of the bank’s cryptocurrency trading and custody service. BBVA Switzerland is the first traditional bank in Europe, and one of the first in the world to offer a service of this kind.

Garanti BBVA recently launched a new tool to allow customers to view their carbon footprint. The new feature on the Garanti BBVA mobile app calculates their carbon emissions based on utility and fuel expenditures, and aims to contribute to a more sustainable world, and the climate crisis.

BBVA's research unit revised its Spanish GDP growth forecasts downward to 4.1% in 2022 and 3.3% in 2023 (from 5.5% and 4.9% previously). The downgrade takes account of the impact of the invasion of Ukraine, the sanctions imposed on the Russian economy, and steeply rising prices—especially for fuel and electricity—over the past few months, as indicated in the latest 'Spain Economic Outlook' report presented by Jorge Sicilia, Director of BBVA Research and BBVA Chief Economist, Rafael Doménech, Head of Economic Analysis, and Miguel Cardoso, Chief Economist for Spain.

The BBVA Foundation presented the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Social Sciences to Mark Granovetter, “the most eminent economic sociologist in the world,” for revealing the power of “loose social ties” among individuals for people's economic and social performance.

Garanti Bank is cooperating with the Turkish Marine Environment Protection Association/TURMEPA to further its goal of working toward a sustainable world and combating the climate crisis. Both organizations are collaborating to collect waste and prevent marine pollution in the Marmara Sea and the provinces of the region as part of the “Blue Breath Project”.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Music and Opera has gone in this fourteenth edition to Philip Glass “for his extraordinary contribution to musical creation and opera, with a major impact in the music history of the 20th and 21st centuries,” in the words of the award committee.