BBVA helps coronavirus patients stay in touch with their families
Thanks to initiatives by BBVA employees, the bank has donated 175 external cell phone batteries to the new IFEMA hospital and 210 blankets to the Alcalá de Henares hospital, both in Madrid.
These days, the quarantine measures and the mandatory isolation of coronavirus patients at hospitals is separating families, who in some cases are not able to hear from their loved ones. A BBVA employee received a request for cell phone batteries for the new IFEMA hospital, where outlets to charge cell phones and other mobile devices are in short supply.
This gave way to the idea to recover one of the gifts the Group offered its shareholders several years ago for its Annual General Meeting: external batteries for cell phones. The extra batteries (175 units) were quickly located in a storage unit at BBVA’s headquarters, charged the entire night, and delivered less than 24 hours later at the new IFEMA hospital. Thanks to this initiative, the patients were able to speak to their families, alleviate their concerns and feel a little closer to them.
And this is not the only assistance BBVA has been able to offer those affected by COVID-19. Blankets are another example, which were also given to BBVA shareholders several years ago, and the extra blankets, along with others from BBVA training centers (a total of 210 blankets) were donated to the Alcalá de Henares hospital, one of the hospitals with the most coronavirus patients.
BBVA and its employees go into action for society
On Tuesday, March 31st, BBVA delivered the first installment of ventilators and masks to Spanish healthcare authorities, as part of its commitment to donate €35 million to fight COVID-19 in the countries where it operates.
In addition, BBVA has launched the campaign ‘Your contribution is worth double’ among its employees. Staff who wish to do so can collaborate with this campaign; for every euro donated by an employee, the bank will contribute an additional euro. In addition, several different voluntary campaigns have been launched in many of the countries where the Group has a presence.
BBVA is fully committed to its role in this crisis. And that’s why, as a act of responsibility with society, its customers, shareholders and employees in the current context, the bank’s Group executive chairman Carlos Torres Vila recently announced that those running the bank on a global and local level in the different countries will forego their variable remuneration in 2020.