Coronavirus

The pandemic has been one of the greatest health crises in recorded history. Thanks to rapid advances in science and technology, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer. Major vaccination efforts are currently underway to immunize the world's population. According to data from health authorities compiled by Our World in Data, 39.7% of the world's population has received at least one dose, while, as of today, almost 2.1 billion people across the globe are fully vaccinated.

One year after the outbreak of the health crisis in Spain, we spoke to some of the leaders in the fight against the virus to find out how aid was mobilized. In the case of science, researchers consider this aid “essential for the research of this pandemic.” Three and a half million people have benefited from the global plan that BBVA launched in March 2020, ‘Social Response to COVID-19’. The money has been used to purchase medical equipment, support vulnerable groups and for research on the disease.

In 2020, BBVA launched its 'COVID-19 Social Response Plan' with €35.7 million to help society at large. The funds were primarily used to purchase medical equipment to support public health systems. In addition, the bank collaborated with a variety of different organizations to support vulnerable groups, and promoted research on the disease and its side effects. More than 3.5 million people directly benefited from these initiatives, rolled out on top of another batch of measures implemented to support clients and customers, including payment deferrals and government backed loans.

Vicente Larraga, research professor at the Vaccines and Gene Expression Unit of CSIC Biological Research Center, participated in a videoconference for BBVA employees, where he answered their questions about current vaccines against COVID-19. Larraga is a doctor and honorary professor of research at the Margarita Salas Biological Research Center and has been a member of the jury for the BBVA Foundation's Frontiers of Knowledge awards.

In 2020, BBVA took a step forward to protect its employees and support its customers and society as a whole, to cope with the COVID-19 crisis. In a year marked by the virus, the bank has launched initiatives across the world to alleviate the financial burden of those worst hit by the pandemic and provide funding for the economic recovery.

This award recognizes BBVA Next Technologies’ commitment using technology to face COVID-19 crisis.

BBVA’s chairman participated this Tuesday in the first edition of the Expansión International Economic Forum, organized by the financial newspaper Expansión and the international forum, the European House-Ambrosetti, in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid.  “Public-private collaboration can leverage private initiatives to make investment decisions and generate prosperity,” said Carlos Torres Vila. In this regard, he feels that “the work of the public sector is to attract private investment with appropriate incentive schemes that manage to multiply European funds,” and in this process, “banks can play a key role” to channel the funds, analyze the projects being financed and strengthen their effect on the economy with their financing.

In the last part of the BBVA USA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness Series, final tips and advice are given, based on the frequently asked questions submitted from actual small business owners who received a PPP loan. Questions were submitted as part of the BBVA USA Forgiveness Webinar, developed to walk small businesses through the forgiveness process.

Parts 1 and 2 of the BBVA USA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness Series detailed two key pieces of the entire process: The lender’s responsibilities and the borrower’s responsibilities. The details of these topics can be found in the main source of the Forgiveness Series: the BBVA USA Forgiveness Webinar, a comprehensive look into the PPP that untangles frequent questions. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked a global disruption that has severely impacted the world’s health, as well as a multitude of aspects of economic and social life. Since the beginning, the scientific community has embarked on the complex, multidisciplinary challenge of looking for solutions to the various areas that have been affected.

In an interview with ‘La Linterna’ de COPE, BBVA’s Group Executive Chairman said that the EU funds to face the health crisis represent “a great opportunity”. In his opinion, if invested “productively in long-term growth and combined in combination with structural reforms”, they can help tackle key problems of the Spanish economy, such as structural unemployment. "We also need to invest in education, focusing on the world of the future: the digital world, the world of data and addressing the transition to a more sustainable world, socially and environmentally."

On September 25, 2015, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, representatives from 193 countries approved the Agenda 2030. Pivotal to the agenda, the UN defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets – which were announced during the signing ceremony – that address a broad range of issues, from extreme poverty to climate change, and promote both education quality and gender equality, peace or responsible consumption. To commemorate the occasion, BBVA lit up in blue (in homage to the United Nations) its flagship La Vela building in its corporate headquarters in Madrid.

Last week, the BBVA USA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness Series detailed  the PPP lender’s responsibilities, which can be found here. The second part of the bank’s PPP forgiveness webinar provided an overview of the borrower’s responsibilities and this article highlights some of the borrower’s responsibilities.

Building on its current “Your Bank for…” marketing campaign, BBVA has produced two new animated videos in response to the pandemic-related challenges small businesses are currently facing.

When the PPP launched earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty painted the quickly-changing small business landscape. That uncertainty still lingers now that the program’s narrative has shifted to the forgiveness phase.

BBVA USA recently released a BBVA PPP Loan Forgiveness Webinar to help small business owners prepare for the forgiveness phase of the small business relief component of the CARES Act. 

The British Safety Council (BSC), one of the leading organizations in promoting occupational health and safety, has recognized BBVA's Turkish unit for the occupational safety measures rolled out at its Pendik HQs, near Istanbul.

BBVA Executive Chairman Carlos Torres Vila has described the European recovery plan (Next Generation EU) as “a landmark opportunity for Spain.” He asserted that “if the aid is complemented by appropriate reforms, Spain could put an end to its elevated structural unemployment, which has hovered above 16 percent over the last four decades, while laying the foundations of an economy based on green and digital growth, a data-driven economy.”

The coronavirus crisis has proven to be a catalyst for workplace flexibility. Companies around the world urgently accelerated their digitization processes in order to first cope with the lockdown measures established in the early days of the pandemic, and going forward to design a new approach to the world of work. If technology served as the primary ally during the initial phase of this transformation, work-life balance is now positioned as the most significant challenge to overcome. BBVA is already preparing for this new reality, evolving its flexible work model, which it implemented two years ago, to cater to the new reality. The bank is responding to important challenges like the use of physical space, goal setting, the new profile of leadership, and employee empowerment and engagement.

In what has been a steady flow of awards from Greenwich Associates, BBVA USA was recently recognized by the financial industry research firm for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In BBVA USA’s announcement regarding the opening of 15 new branches across Texas, the bank showed its commitment to weaving its groundbreaking digital capabilities into traditional face-to-face interactions, a concept that continues to be relevant in today’s banking industry.

As companies across the globe struggle to find a balance between protecting the health and safety of employees and maintaining an efficient and effective workforce, BBVA is using its highly visible leadership team to meet that challenge with frequent transparent updates.

BBVA’s chief executive officer presented the media with 2020's second quarter results. Onur Genç expects the bank to “certainly beat our capital target by the end of the year,” given that in June the bank had already hit the high end of its target range. He therefore believes that “in 2021, we will return to paying dividends,” as per recommendations the supervisory authority may make.

BBVA has granted CAF Development Bank of Latin America a $200 million loan that will finance CAF’s assistance programs designed to address the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America. The negotiation and documentation of the loan were fast tracked in order to expedite support for the region.

Many institutions and world players have spearheaded initiatives that are pursuing a common goal: to emerge from the coronavirus crisis with a sustainable and green recovery. Manifestos, letters, commitments, institutional statements, and calls to action have proliferated as the impacts of the crisis have worsened. Many of these initiatives are supported by the European Union; its leaders have approved a historic agreement to address the deep recession caused by COVID-19. It’s the era of green partnerships, and BBVA is an active participant.

The uncertainty triggered by COVID-19 has led to a rise in cyberattacks against individuals in Spain. BBVA has therefore hosted several webinars in recent months to offer practical advice to customers and non-customers and thus alert the general public to the risk of fraud on the Internet. During these online events, involving members of the BBVA Cybersecurity team, including Roberto Ortiz, Global Head of Security Culture and Training at BBVA (People Information Security), speakers addressed the need to educate, inform and raise awareness of cyber attacks to protect the identity and finances of network users.