BBVA Francés' new corporate tower is now open

The BBVA Group invested nearly $250 million in the bank’s new headquarters in Argentina. The building has 33 floors, 23 of which are for BBVA Francés, where more than 1,900 of the bank’s employees will work. “This building reflects our commitment to our team, our customers and to Argentine society by investing in an innovative and sustainable project that brings the age of opportunity to everyone,” Francisco González said.

Similar to the other buildings BBVA recently built in the different countries where it has a presence, BBVA Francés’ new headquarters is considered a tool to promote the Group’s digital transformation.

With the most advanced systems,  the offices are designed to make the most out of technology for the benefit of our customers. Its open concept design aims to promote formal and informal interactions among employees and boost knowledge sharing, creating open spaces that help to streamline decision-making.

The building is LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified at the Gold level. This international certification is one of the most stringent in sustainable construction and guarantees that the building is environmentally friendly and extremely comfortable for employees. For example, the offices have a centralized printing system that makes the work environment cleaner and improves the air quality, all while saving energy and paper.

The Buenos Aires tower joins the other new headquarters built in Madrid, Mexico City, Houston, London, Santiago, Chile and Lima. These complexes, together with technological platforms, the organization and corporate culture are all part of the same project. “The opening of this tower is part of our global strategy to build a new BBVA Group – a new model of banking based on technology and capable of leading the financial industry in the coming decades,” Francisco González noted.  At the end of 2016, BBVA has 70 million customers, of which 18.4 million use digital channels and 12.4 million use mobile banking. This represents annual growth of 38%.

Argentina’s potential

Argentine Vice President Gabriela Michetti attended the official opening of the building. BBVA Francés Executive Chairman Martín Zarich welcomed everyone to the event, thanking the authorities and everyone present for attending. Then, in his speech, Francisco González recognized the work of the government to put Argentina back on the global agenda, with notable presence in international forums. “I would like to congratulate the current Argentine government for their leadership in setting a new economic course. It has meant making tough, but necessary decisions,” in reference to the situation with international creditors, the liberalization of the exchange market, the elimination of export taxes, the normalization of key prices in the economy, the fight against inflation and the gradual reduction of the fiscal imbalance.

Prior to the event, Francisco González met with President Mauricio Macri at the Casa Rosada. During the meeting, BBVA’s Global Executive Chairman reiterated the BBVA Group’s long-term commitment to Argentina.

BBVA Francés

BBVA Francés has an extensive network of branches throughout the country, including 302 customer service centers – 251 of which are retail banking branches and 34 of which are specialized in SMEs and institutions. Corporate Banking is divided into sectors - Consumer Goods and Services, Heavy Industry and Energy – and they provide personalized service to large corporations. Complementing its distribution network are 728 ATMs and 789 self-service terminals.

The bank has more than 6,265 employees and does business with 2.1 million retail customers, 19,300 companies and 750 large corporations.