BBVA in Asia

BBVA arrived in Asia more than 40 years ago and since then it has built up a comprehensive network of branches and representative offices for the BBVA Group’s corporate and institutional clients. BBVA currently has five branches located in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo; and representative offices in Seoul, Beijing, Jakarta, and Mumbai. Each of these locations plays a fundamental role in the region’s economy and offers a unique market appeal for companies.

BBVA branches in Asia focus on serving the wholesale banking and institutional investor segment, while its representative offices are limited to performing liaison functions between the parent company and the destination country where they are located, but do not offer actual banking services.

BBVA's team in Asia is made up of more than 200 professionals. As in the rest of BBVA Group, these experts have a very clear client focus which, in this particular region, translates into three strategic priorities:

As a common theme linking these three priorities, BBVA's focus is to support its clients in their transition to a more sustainable business model. In 2023, BBVA was recognised by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index as the most sustainable European bank for the fourth year running.

Through its five branches in the region, BBVA serves the wholesale banking and institutional investor segment through financial products and services that are tailored to their needs.

TRANSACTIONAL BANKING SOLUTIONS

BBVA's transactional banking teams help companies and institutions manage risks related to short-term liquidity. They also offer international trade finance and working capital services.

International Trade. Financing solutions for international trade transactions, which can be structured or ‘plain vanilla’, with either short- or long-term horizons. Bilateral loans; confirmations and discounts for credit export letters; payment collection solutions; sustainable products and a wide range of guarantees.

Management of working capital. Solutions for financing the working capital of companies (sustainable financing also available), and which meet the needs of client subsidiaries in the countries where BBVA is present under a single corporate guarantee.

Deposits and cash management capabilities (limited).

FINANCING AND INVESTMENT BANKING SOLUTIONS

BBVA Asia offers a wide range of advisory services to its clients, both in mergers and acquisitions and in the management of their medium and long-term debt. These solutions include:

Mergers and acquisitions. BBVA wants to be the go-to advisor for buy and sell mandates in the geographies in which it is present, mainly in Spain, Mexico, South America and Türkiye.

Corporate financing. The bank offers all its global clients advisory services in all aspects of bank financing: structuring and execution of bilateral loans; participation in syndicated financing arrangements: underwriting, structuring and execution of syndicated financings. It also actively promotes green, social and sustainable financing, as well as financing linked to digitalization indicators.

Project finance, especially in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Structured financing, focusing on transactions insured by export credit agencies.

CAPITAL MARKETS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

BBVA has three trading floors in Asia. The main one is located in Hong Kong, while the other two—with capacity to service needs in local currency—operate out of Shanghai and Taipei. From these locations, the bank's global markets team provides a service based on extensive knowledge of the different realities existing within the region and tailored to the specific needs of each client. In Asia in particular, BBVA is working in two very clear directions:

1. Giving Asian investors access to the capital markets across BBVA’s footprint, through a wide range of fixed income products, such as sovereign or corporate bonds, and equities, both in ‘plain vanilla’ and structured formats.

2. Offer hedging tools for both currencies and interest rates to Asian multinational companies with operations or interests in the geographies where BBVA is present, and to global clients with a presence in Asia.

BBVA’s Asian client base includes some of the major companies in the region. Over the years BBVA has built a solid relationship with them, offering long- and short-term financial support, as well as foreign trade tools and innovative value-added services, both in the countries of origin of the clients, and especially in BBVA’s footprint.

The fact of having a global relationship manager in Asia, w who is in continuous coordination with BBVA’s local teams in the region, guarantees the clients a smooth deployment of the financial services they need. Clients are attended in their local language and in their time zone, offering them significant advantages on an operational scale. Something that customers especially appreciate is the availability of a consolidated credit limit that the global relationship manager, together with the client, can allocate to each of the subsidiaries and geographies as and when needed.

Aside from this global-local coverage model, BBVA’s sector focus has allowed it to verticalize its customer coverage services so as to further cement its position as a specialist in key industries which, due to the different challenges each one presents, require dedicated support and knowledge. This approach enables the bank to accompany its clients more efficiently and enhance strategic dialogue with them by addressing their main business needs.

BBVA has geared the model toward those industries flagged as priorities because they are key pillars in current sustainability trends: consumer, retail and health; energy; industry and transport; infrastructure and construction; technology, media and communications (TMT); financial institutions; and financial sponsors.

The innovation that BBVA incorporates in its service offering is another aspect that Asian wholesale clients recognize as differential. The bank has pioneered two major trends that are already consolidated in the market today: sustainability and digitization.

Today, sustainability is on the strategic agenda of all CEOs: achieving social and environmental development with a positive impact, and ensuring that the profitability of companies today is sustainable tomorrow. Banks undoubtedly have to meet the needs of their clients if they want to remain relevant to them, by accompanying them in the transition to a sustainable future. That is why in 2018 BBVA announced its Pledge 2025, which was raised in both 2021 and 2022, with the target of mobilizing €300 billion in sustainable financing by 2025.

BBVA has been a pioneer and innovator particularly in sustainable loans and is one of the most active institutions today, both globally and in Spain. This commitment to sustainability has also reached the Asian market, where in 2019 the bank participated as coordinator in its first sustainable loan to a Chinese corporate client, namely COFCO International, the largest agribusiness company in China. Meanwhile, it continues to support its clients both in Asia and globally, as shown by the most recent green loan that BBVA granted to China Three Gorges International Ltd. in September 2024 to refinance its renewable energy projects abroad.

In addition, BBVA is certifying its clients’ operations in the region as green, social or sustainable in accordance with its sustainable transaction banking framework.

ACCOMPANYING ASIAN COMPANIES IN THE REST OF THE WORLD

BBVA is currently positioned as the ideal partner for nearshoring, as it leverages on its leading franchises in Spain, Mexico, South America and Türkiye. This gives it a distinct competitive edge, enabling the bank to offer the best services to multinational Asian clients as they enter and expand in these markets.

One of BBVA’s priorities is to accompany Asian companies in their business activity across the bank’s geographical footprint. This is so in the beginning of the client's journey, as well as when they already are more established in the region. BBVA supports them with a variety of financing solutions, ranging from advisory on an acquisition, to a public offering or organically, the management and participation in a financing and issuance of necessary guarantees.

It is essential to respond to the day-to-day operational and transactional needs of companies, corporations and institutions, as well as to support them in their treasury management, where liquidity management is a key factor. This is accomplished through instruments and services adapted for the management of collections, payments, foreign trade and asset management.

BBVA offers optimal coverage of these needs, thanks to its franchises around the world and its global business approach, especially for Asian companies with interests in Latin America. The bank's mission is to accompany its wholesale clients in their international expansion by putting the geographies in which the bank is present to work at the service of its clients. A prime example of this was the formalization of a green guarantee facility in favor of China Harbour Engineering Company Limited to build line 1 of the Bogotá metro. It was a landmark deal, as it was the largest infrastructure project in Colombia as well as the most ambitious cooperation project ever signed between the Latin American country and China.

BBVA's branch network in Asia provides service to the largest multinational clients, supporting them in the coordination of their projects in the region and offering them access to a wide range of products and services they can implement from their different subsidiaries.

This global service approach presents important advantages for clients: it allows them to work with their trusted bank with which they have a global relationship and commitment, and to integrate all the services they receive in different countries.

BBVA's service offering in Asia aims to meet the needs of multinationals, and includes the management of their capital or operational expenditures (known as 'capex' and 'opex'), as well as advisory services, short- or long-term credit, corporate transaction banking services such as trade finance for their purchases and sales, or currency risk hedging.

BBVA’s global client base in Asia operates in a wide variety of sectors. These companies include:

BBVA in Asia has an experienced team of financial market specialists whose main objective is to act as a bridge between Asian investors and the rest of the global markets. The bank’s ambition is to provide institutional investors, central banks and Asian fund managers with the best investment solutions for various underlying assets (equities, bonds, currencies and interest rates).

• Institutional investors: The private banking segment in Asia is large and has been growing rapidly as a result of economic development and the increase in the number of high net worth customers in the region. BBVA’s business focus is to provide both ‘cross-asset’ investment solutions, with underlying assets from different families (equities, fixed income or FX), and single assets, mainly equities, which private banking entities pass on to their clients. This warehouse of investment products is leveraged on a technological platform that allows BBVA to respond to clients in the best possible timeframe and price, while also facilitating optimal risk management. Aside from private banking, the institutional client segment happens to include funds, banks and insurance companies that normally demand fixed income products, both ‘plain vanilla’ (sovereign and corporate bonds) and structured (notes of BBVA or other issuers, with options and derivatives), whether in the form of cash, repos or derivatives. The demand from these clients comes from their own investment needs and also from requests passed on from their retail client networks. Apart from fixed income products, investors are also demanding currency hedging solutions so they can manage their risks. For an Asian investor with an interest in Latin American emerging markets, the bank offers investment options in sovereign and corporate bonds, in primary or secondary markets, and also gives them the option of hedging their currency risk should they wish to. All this is accompanied by the best research analysis of each country, coordinated by a relationship manager operating in their language and time zone.

• Public sector. BBVA offers central banks and sovereign wealth funds bespoke solutions for each mandate, whether they are investing in sovereign bonds, corporate bonds or deposits, with an execution timeline tailored to their needs. Thanks to this value proposition, and to BBVA's market maker status in its franchise markets, the bank ranks among the main providers of European sovereign bonds to central banks in the region. Also within the public sector, BBVA offers a range of financing solutions to public entities, including loans and Structured Trade Finance solutions.

Close collaboration between Asia and the countries where BBVA has a leading franchise is key to strengthening international trade, which remains an essential driver of economic growth, job creation and the redistribution of wealth between countries.

At BBVA, with more than 165 years of history and a presence in 25 countries, we are convinced that supporting international trade is crucial when it comes to fulfilling our purpose: “To bring the age of opportunity to everyone.” In 2023, we will help more than 70,000 companies to expand, both domestically and internationally.

Our presence in Asia, which dates back more than 40 years, has strengthened our bilateral relations. We are now stepping up our operations in the region, where we offer state-of-the-art financial and sustainable solutions to corporate and institutional clients alike, all with the aim of adding value to their business and supporting them in their international expansion.

Last but not least, let me just say that the development of green technologies is crucial to achieving global decarbonization goals. In 2023, BBVA mobilized more than €70 billion in sustainable financing and we have set ourselves the goal of channeling €300 billion by 2025. Asia is a key player in this global challenge.”

PEP FERRÍS
Head of BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking Asia