Onur Genç’s appointment as BBVA Compass CEO and country manager marks the beginning of a new chapter for the BBVA Group’s franchise in the U.S. Genç is ready to take on the challenge of leading the digitization push, at a time when the prospects of rising interest rates could have a profound impact on the future of the industry. BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila, in Houston visiting the team at BBVA Compass, joined Genç for this interview. BBVA’s CEO underscored the bank’s commitment to the U.S. market, a region that accounted for 11 percent of the Group’s net attributable profit in 2016.

Freelance work generated 70,490 jobs in 2016 in Spain, an average of 193 every day. 25,479 new independent contractors registered with Social Security last year. This group hired 45,011 people, according to an ATA report published by ABC. Nevertheless, the group generated fewer jobs in 2016 than in 2015, when 75,524 jobs were created.

BBVA has agreed to acquire 9.95% of Turkiye Garanti Bankasi from Dogus Group for approximately a total of 3.32 billion Turkish lira (€859 million)¹, increasing its stake in Turkey’s largest bank by market capitalization to 49.85%. The acquisition of the additional stake would boost BBVA Group’s net attributable profit by about €165 million in 2018, according to analysts’ consensus for Garanti’s earnings².

According to the Mozilla Foundation’s Internet Health Report, six out of every ten people on the planet cannot connect to the Internet.

One in five smartphones sold in 2017 will have learning capabilities,according to Deloitte’s report Predictions for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Sector 2017.

DHL Express believes that international ecommerce will grow an average of 25% from now until 2020 – a “great opportunity” for global companies. This was one of the company’s findings from its study “The Spice Trade of the 21st Century”, presented at the first day of Export@ Digital. Despite the growth outlooks, only 10% of companies offer their products and services abroad, EFE reports.

69% of Spanish travelers are not willing to pay to use WiFi on airplanes, and only three of the main 19 airlines offer it at no charge, according to a Skyscanner study covered by Europa Press.

The BBVA Group sold a 1.7% stake in CNCB in the market for about €554 million,  with net capital gains of about €177 million and thus concluding the sale of nearly its entire stake in the Chinese bank. Since the beginning, the investment in CNCB as a whole has generated a positive cash flow for BBVA of about €1.3 billion.

BBVA’s current strategy to accelerate the sale of the Spanish real estate assets has resulted in the first wholesale transaction of 2017. BBVA’s portfolio consists of almost 3,500 units. The operation had been dubbed Project Buffalo.

95% of corporate leaders in Spain believe that new technologies represent an opportunity for their companies to grow, according to Grant Thornton’s International Business Report. The report adds that only 2% consider them a threat and the remaining 3% say their influence is neutral.