Pilar Martínez Fariña

Going public is an option that many businesses start considering after reaching a certain stage in their development, whether to access funding from capital markets and drive their growth strategy, or to offer the opportunity to its private shareholders to obtain liquidity, crystalize the value of their shares and diversify their asset portfolio. But, what factors determine the success of an IPO?

BBVA signed the first credit with CESCE coverage to receive “green” certification. BBVA granted a five year loan for €16.5 million to the Colombian company HIDRALPOR. This innovative operation allows BBVA to consolidate its leading position in sustainable finance on a global scale.

Practicing energy efficiency is essential for the protection of the environment. A few simple household tricks will help you manage to reduce your energy consumption while at the same time adding to the household pocketbook.

World economic growth is causing energy consumption levels to skyrocket. According to forecasts, energy needs will expand by 30 percent between today and 2040. This new scenario calls for practices aimed at promoting the efficient use of energy. But, is society really aware of the importance of curbing energy consumption?

BBVA Trader, a platform developed by BBVA entirely conceived for and devoted to trading, allows users to invest in different instruments, including warrants, one of the most popular. Warrants are publicly traded derivatives that leverage an investment on an underlying asset. BBVA Trader allows applying different investment strategies based on its users’ goals, be it just investing, obtaining liquidity, securing capital or hedging risks.

Nowadays, more and more companies are committed to policies that encourage diversity in their work environments. In a panel at an ICMA Women’s Network event, held in Madrid, a group of women in leadership positions in various sectors of the industry debated issues such as unconscious biases in the workplace and the challenges they have had to face throughout their professional lives.

From its early days, the fate of Wall Street has been marked by the ups and downs of North American history. It has seen a fair share of upheaval, such as the devastating market crash of October 29, 1929, which led to the Great Depression, or the collapse of Lehman Brothers, ten years ago. But, what are the origins of this financial center? And how did it grow to become the powerhouse that it is today?

Advances in technology contribute to economic progress and have a direct, long-term impact on society's well-being. Clearly, digital transformation creates opportunities that improve both our lives and our businesses. BBVA shares this view: the bank has made a commitment to new technologies such as blockchain, which allow it to offer innovative financing approaches to its corporate clients.

BBVA has reaffirmed its leadership in sustainable financing with the execution and structuring of the first revolving credit facility (RCF) for the power utility A2A in Italy. The bank acted as an advisor, sustainable coordinator and documentation agent, heading a finance deal valued at €400 million euros.

The BBVA Trader platform makes various tools and specialized content available to those customers who want to learn about the world of trading in more detail. Using leverage to trade stocks is a type of transaction that is supported by the BBVA Trader platform, which also provides the relevant must-know information for anyone embarking on this approach to trading.

Merger and Acquisition activity (M&A) has taken on significant relevance in the current economic and financial climate in Spain. In other markets, like in the United States, where there are numerous financial entities that give their customers guidance on such matters, the role of the financial advisor already forms part of the business ecosystem.

Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) replicate the movement of a financial asset or basket of financial assets such as indexes, commodities or currencies. An ETP is an “investment vehicle” that combines the advantages of shares, in that they are traded in the continuous markets of exchanges with an investment in a group of financial assets. This characteristic has made ETPs a very popular alternative investment.

The BBVA Trader platform offers users specialized content that affords them full market analysis for their trading operations. An example of one of the concepts dealt with in the platform is leverage.

What does it mean when we say a bank is the ‘bookrunner’ for a deal? Or if a financial institution has acted as the ‘lead manager’ or ‘lead arranger’? These are just some or the roles that banks can play in bond issuances and loan transactions.

BBVA has reaffirmed its leading position in sustainable finance by closing the first green loan deal with a company in the Spanish distribution sector, the Valencian cooperative Consum. The €5-million operation proves that this type of financing is not limited to major multinationals present in the capital market. Smaller enterprises also have access to it.

The role the financial sector must currently play in the fight against climate change, the challenges posed of sustainable financing and the proposed series of objectives to facilitate green financing were some of the issues discussed by the Sustainable Financing Solutions panel. This debate closed the first edition of BBVA Sustainable Finance Forum, which was held on May 9 and brought together investors, entrepreneurs and public and private sector institutions with the aim of promoting sustainable development and the fight against climate change.

The ‘BBVA Latin America Conference’, held on May 2 and 3 in New York, is a yearly event hosted by BBVA that brings together public and private Latin American debt issuers and North American investors. In this year’s edition of the conference —the eighth— BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila, and BBVA Global head of Customer Solutions Derek White were some of the prominent figures who took the floor to share their insights into pivotal issues such as investments in Latin America, sustainable finance and banking innovation.

Bonds and loans are financing instruments used at one moment or other by companies during the course of their existence. These are two conceptually different credit products that are sometimes confused. It is important to differentiate between both means of financing and understand their characteristics in order to know their true essence.

Getting into certain professional fields can be a difficult task. There are no exact formulas or specific studies that open the door to certain jobs. A clear example of this is financial product trader. This is an attractive career for many because of the chance it offers – not always feasible – of earning a lot of money in a short period of time. But this entails big unknowns, among which is the key question: How do I become a good trader?

Yet another year, BBVA was named best investment banking in Spain and Mexico by U.S. publication Global Finance Magazine. Also, for the first time, BBVA secured a spot in the 'Best investment bank' and 'Best bank for new financial technology' categories in Latin America, thanks to its technological efforts and significant advances in digital transformation.

BBVA has marked a new milestone in the sustainable finance business with the closing of the first global transaction in the insurance sector. MAPFRE has transformed its syndicated credit facility for 1 billion euros into sustainable finance with the cooperation of BBVA, which acted as Sustainable Agent in the transaction.

Green loans have arrived in force on the world’s financial markets. The volume of these sustainable products, which up to now had appeared sporadically, has shown a marked increase since last year. BBVA ended 2017 as the most active company in green loans worldwide, with a total of 11 transactions in Europe and Latin America for clients in a range of sectors, and was the undisputed number one in Spain.