Carlos Torres Vila: "Both BBVA and Banco Sabadell shareholders will become the owners of a bank better prepared for the future”

In his speech, the BBVA Chair reviewed the bank’s growth trajectory in 2024, and the strategic cycle that just ended, while anticipating the main points in the roadmap for the future.

First, Carlos Torres Vila recalled that BBVA’s greatest contribution to society is “stimulating economic activity and fostering progress in the places where we operate.” Loan growth in the year (up 14.3 percent) allowed over 160,000 families to purchase a home, while 715,000 small and mid-sized businesses and the self-employed, and 70,000 large companies had access to BBVA financing throughout the year. A significant portion of the credit granted in 2024 was allocated to initiatives with a social impact. The bank channeled €22 billion to sustainable infrastructure projects, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and social mortgages.

From a financial standpoint, 2024 was an excellent year for BBVA, posting its best results in history. For the first time, the bank surpassed €10 billion in net attributable profit, and earnings per share rose 28 percent¹. “These figures are a reflection of our robust business model and our successful, pioneering strategy based on digitization, innovation and sustainability,” he added. BBVA established itself as the leader in profitability in its group of comparable European peers, with an ROTE of 20 percent, well above the 13 percent average for its main competitors in the region. Furthermore, the tangible book value per share plus dividends rose 17 percent, far surpassing the 13 percent average for large European banks. “Yet another year, we once again stand out among European banks for our ability to combine this greater profitability with higher growth,” he added.

Carlos Torres Vila emphasized that: “These excellent results allow us to reinvest in the business to continue creating value, and also increase shareholder distributions.” The BBVA Chair added, “In line with our dividend policy, we are proposing to this Annual General Meeting the distribution of over €5 billion, which represents 50 percent of the net attributable profit for the year. Specifically, we are proposing a cash dividend of €0.70 per share, €0.41 now, plus the €0.29 that was paid in October. And we will carry out a new €993 million share buyback program, which will be completed in the next few months. These programs reinforce the trend of rising dividends per share.”

He then underscored that dividend growth has been consistent in recent years, and will increase substantially yet another year. “The dividend of €0.70 per share, which is proposed for 2024, represents a 27 percent increase over the previous year, consolidating the pattern of continuous growth. With this proposal, we will have distributed over €18 billion in dividends and buybacks since 2021. A very clear commitment to value creation and shareholder distributions,” he noted.

The BBVA Chair indicated that the market highly values the bank’s strategy and its main metrics. “Since early 2019, our shareholders have witnessed the value of their investments quadruple, including stock performance and dividends, far surpassing European and Spanish banks, whose shareholders have seen their investment grow by 2.7 and 2.4 times, respectively,” he said.

BBVA value creation not only benefits customers and shareholders. It benefits society as a whole. Close to 60 percent of the bank’s income is allocated to the salaries of the nearly 126,000 bank employees, payments to suppliers and loan provisions. Of the remaining 40 percent, one third is allocated to taxes, another third to shareholder distributions and the final third is reinvested to continue growing.

In short, 2024 was a year of great achievements for BBVA, with historic results and a positive impact on society. “I am convinced that we will continue moving forward to surpass them, thanks to our winning, pioneering strategy and, above all, to the best team: 126,000 professionals who embody our values and work every day to deliver the best service. Thanks to their dedication and talent, we have achieved these historic results and this position of leadership,” Carlos Torres Vila concluded.

An evolving strategy to overcome future challenges

In 2024, BBVA continued moving forward in the execution of its strategy based on digitization, innovation and sustainability. The bank broke a new record in customer acquisition, adding 11.4 million new customers and reaching a total of 77 million. “The more we grow, the greater our positive impact on society,” Carlos Torres Vila underscored. This was possible thanks to a strategic commitment to digitization, which allowed us to offer more agile and accessible services, increasing customer satisfaction.

Similarly, thanks to advances in generative AI, virtual assistants and an agreement with OpenAI, the bank is positioning itself as one of the leaders in data integration and artificial intelligence, according to the prestigious international index, Evident AI.

Sustainability is another cornerstone in BBVA’s strategy, and its importance continues to grow. In 2024, the bank channeled nearly €100 billion in sustainable business, doubling the figure from two years ago and increasing it fivefold compared to 2019. BBVA has channeled over €300 billion since 2018, reaching the 2025 target one year ahead of schedule.

Looking ahead, Carlos Torres Vila outlined the macroeconomic forecasts for the bank’s main markets. “In 2025, we are expecting the economy to continue growing, although at a more moderate pace than in 2024. Factors such as geopolitical and trade tensions are increasing uncertainty,” he noted. Despite these challenges, “the economic outlooks in our main markets remain favorable.”

“In addition to the uncertain macroeconomic context, the world keeps changing at high speed as a consequence of major global trends that are shaping the future and having a significant impact on our sector,” he explained. Following a 2019-2024 strategic cycle in which BBVA far surpassed its objectives, the bank has redesigned its strategy for the next five years.

The new strategic plan is based on three pillars: the purpose –’Support your drive to go further’– the values and behaviors, and the six strategic priorities. The first priority is to ‘incorporate the radical client perspective in everything we do, as it is essential to make the purpose a reality.’ The second is to ‘promote sustainability as a driver of growth,’ establishing the bank’s leadership in this field. The third is to grow in all business segments, from SMEs to large corporations “with the aim of becoming the bank of choice for this segment in all countries where we operate.” The fourth is to promote a value and capital creation mindset across all levels of the organization, which will lead BBVA “to continue improving our performance.”

The final two priorities are related to two key elements necessary to achieve all of the above: “maximizing the potential of artificial intelligence and innovation through the use of data and next-generation technologies,” and strengthening “the incredible human team at BBVA, enhancing our empathy, and succeeding as the winning team that we are.” With these lines of action, BBVA aims to “continue growing our business, multiplying our contribution to society and creating value for everyone,” he declared.

Full confidence in the success of the transaction with Banco Sabadell

In 2024, BBVA proposed the integration with Banco Sabadell, “the most attractive project in European banking.” The BBVA Chair expressed his “full confidence in the success of the transaction”, with which “we are seeking to integrate two highly complementary banks, combining our strengths so that we can achieve more ambitious goals together than we could on our own.”

The BBVA Chair also analyzed the current macroeconomic and geopolitical context in Europe. From his perspective, “Europe is at a crucial moment, a turning point that will define its role in the world for the coming decades. We have to make up for lost ground, increasing our role in the global economy, in innovation and the energy transition, and consolidating our autonomy in defense and security.” To achieve this, Carlos Torres Vila called for “vision, unity and responsibility of all actors, including banks, which play a key role in financing the enormous investments needed.”

In this regard, he recalled that the European Commission estimates that the region needs about €800 billion annually. A significant portion of this investment would be in Spain, “which is in a privileged position to be a role model in this new phase due to its higher growth and availability of clean energy. To do so, Spain and Europe need banks with the right scale and strength to handle these challenges and channel savings toward strategic initiatives,” he stated.

“BBVA is a leader in growth and profitability and is committed to helping to build the Europe of the future,” Carlos Torres Vila said. “The union with Banco Sabadell makes even more sense in this context, by creating a stronger, more competitive and more profitable bank. It is a clear commitment to Spain and its companies: We want to grow and contribute to the growth of the country and its territories.”

Therefore, he expressed his firm belief that the transaction of BBVA and Banco Sabadell will create a better bank for everyone. “Thanks to our greater scale and results, we will increase our ability to grant loans to families and businesses by approximately €5 billion per year, benefiting society at large. Our contribution through taxes will also increase, and with it, our positive impact on the progress and development of Spain,” he indicated. Furthermore, he emphasized that BBVA is “especially sensitive to the concerns expressed by the authorities. We therefore presented effective, unprecedented remedies to the CNMC to guarantee financial inclusion and social cohesion, credit for SMEs, and competitiveness.”

With the transaction, BBVA also increases its commitment to the territories where Banco Sabadell has a larger presence. The BBVA Chair reiterated that: “We will maintain the corporate center in Sant Cugat as a key decision-making center, and we will reinforce our support to the business, scientific and cultural actors in these territories. And we will use both brands in those areas or businesses where they are important.”

Meanwhile, customers will have access to a unique value proposition in the market, thanks to the complementarity of the franchises, the largest and best product offering, and access to a bank with a presence in more than 25 countries. Employees of both banks will become part of a larger, more diversified team, with greater opportunities for professional development.

In the words of Carlos Torres VIla, “both BBVA and Banco Sabadell shareholders will become owners of a bank better prepared for the future, with greater scale and the ability to generate significant synergies. This means future increases in earnings per share, dividends per share, tangible book value per share, and profitability of the investment. And all this with a limited impact on capital,” he added.

In this regard, he stressed that, “Once the transaction is approved by the authorities, it will be Banco Sabadell shareholders’ turn and it is important that they be the ones who decide. We expect them to be able to join this great project as soon as possible,” the BBVA Chair declared, while taking the opportunity to thank shareholders for their strong support during the Extraordinary General Meeting in July.

BBVA continues to show solid growth in earnings and profitability

BBVA CEO Onur Genç then underlined that beyond reaching historic figures, the bank’s core profits have followed a trend of sustained growth. Over the past four years, BBVA has more than doubled its profit. Since 2015, the tangible book value per share has consistently been higher than that of its competitors. In recent years, this gap has widened even further. Onur Genç believes this strong performance is due to the success of the bank's strategy, on the one hand; and to its leading franchises around the world, and the resilience provided by its geographic diversification, reducing the volatility of earnings, on the other.

BBVA also leads European banking in terms of efficiency and activity growth. In 2024, the bank achieved an efficiency ratio of 40 percent, significantly better than the 52 percent average of its European competitors. Loan portfolio growth has also been a strong spot, with an increase far surpassing the sector average.

Onur Genç mentioned that the bank achieved this growth “in a healthy manner” without compromising asset quality, with an NPL ratio that has improved to its lowest level in recent years, and the cost of risk at bay. All of this while maintaining a strong capital position, with a ratio of 12.88 percent, well above regulatory requirements, and "giving the bank the capacity to continue growing in the future and creating value for all shareholders."

The BBVA CEO emphasized that the bank's strength is also reflected in its market valuation, emphasizing that, “In the first few months of 2025, we have reached our highest market capitalization in history.”

Furthermore, he also stressed that “BBVA’s success has been uniform, with growth across all business areas. Looking ahead, he reaffirmed that: “In 2025, we expect to maintain a profitability ratio similar to the record figures of 2024, and looking ever further down the road, in line with our new strategic plan through 2029, we anticipate average annual growth in tangible book value per share plus dividends of around 15 percent.”

Finally, the BBVA CEO expressed his gratitude to the people who make up BBVA. “The great bank we are and the excellent results we are presenting today are a reflection of the work of nearly 126,000 employees who are part of BBVA.”

¹Recurring earnings per share, considering the number of shares at the end of the period.