Carlos Torres Vila points to BBVA’s winning combination of growth and profitability in a video for shareholders
On March 21, BBVA will be holding its 2025 Annual General Meeting in Bilbao. In a recent video addressed to shareholders, Carlos Torres Vila underlines the bank’s achievements in a year in which it surpassed €10 billion in profit for the first time. In 2024, more than 11 million new customers joined BBVA and lending was up 14 percent, thus contributing to job creation, social well-being and investments. Meanwhile, the return on tangible equity (ROTE) reached 20 percent. “Once again we stand out among leading European banks thanks to our winning combination of growth and profitability,” remarks Carlos Torres Vila.
BBVA will distribute €5 billion against last year’s earnings, equivalent to half of its profits, through dividend payments and share buybacks. In this manner, BBVA will have delivered more than €18 billion in dividends and share buybacks since 2021.
Torres Vila is also optimistic about 2025: the business will continue to grow and the bank expects to maintain current levels of profitability, despite the uncertain environment and the challenges facing the European financial industry.
More precisely, he says that Europe needs stronger, more efficient banks with the right scale to cope with the necessary investments in technology and sustainability, key factors in making the continent more competitive. It is against this backdrop that the union with Banco Sabadell has been proposed, in what is a great opportunity for customers, employees, the shareholders of both entities, and society as a whole. According to the BBVA Chair, “The integration combines the strengths of two highly complementary banks, so we can together achieve goals that would not be possible separately.”