Banking

BBVA CEO Onur Genç, speaking on Wednesday at Bank of America's annual investor conference, stated that the process in the Banco Sabadell transaction is actually relatively straightforward. "Spain has excellent institutions, and the CNMC, the competition supervisor, is certainly one of them," he said. Genç noted that similar deals have been approved in the past and expressed confidence that, “If the same methodology is applied, the deal should be cleared in phase 1, as there are no competition issues.” On Mexico, he emphasized the country's highly positive prospects and reaffirmed that the bank "will continue to deliver reliable high returns."

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila spoke in Barcelona on Tuesday, emphasizing Catalonia's strong "future appeal" and the bank's commitment to supporting its growth. He stressed the region's importance to BBVA, noting that Catalonia is the largest contributor to the bank’s business in Spain, with one in four new SME customers coming from the region. The combination with Banco Sabadell, he added, will further strengthen BBVA’s commitment to Catalonia and its SMEs: “We aim to continue growing with Catalonia and the transaction with Banco Sabadell reflects that.” On the topic of post-merger concentration in the banking sector, the BBVA Chair stated that "this transaction will not create competition issues, as it will result in a smaller institution compared to previous mergers.”

Throughout its history, BBVA has played a prominent role in the economic and social development of Spain, propeling its progress and constantly adapting the bank in order to be at the forefront of innovation and technology. Since it was first established in the mid-19th Century (1857), BBVA has been known for being a visionary bank, with the ability to anticipate the trends that will change the financial industry and the future needs of its customers. Some of its noteworthy milestones include financing the construction of the Madrid subway system; being the first bank to allow women to do their banking without the permission of a legal guardian through the creation of the  Women’s Bank; and being the first bank to introduce credit cards as a payment method. A track record that has established BBVA as a crucial ally to face future challenges and thus encourage economic growth and the transformation of businesses.

The EIB Group (European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund) has invested €377 million in the ¨BBVA Consumer 2024-1¨ securitisation fund. This investment will enable BBVA to channel nearly €800 million into the real economy to finance energy efficiency projects and new mortgages for highly energy-efficient homes. The operation also includes financing for projects to boost the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Spain.

The BBVA CEO indicated this Wednesday that creating value is the bank’s main priority and guides the way in which BBVA manages its business. At an investors conference organized by Goldman Sachs in Madrid, Onur Genç said that BBVA’s commitment to optimal capital allocation is what distinguishes the bank from its peers in the markets where it operates.

BBVA has achieved a milestone in Italy, surpassing 420,000 customers in February 2024, exceeding its initial target. The bank had a record year in 2023, attracting 220,000 new customers, thanks to a highly attractive range of products and services. As a result, BBVA has set a new target for this year of 600,000 customers. If successful, it will have achieved its original goal two years ahead of schedule.

BBVA is to start on Monday, March 4th, a new share buyback program for €781 million, having received the necessary clearance from the European Central Bank. The buyback is part of shareholders’ regular distributions for 2023. In total, BBVA will distribute €4.01 billion (50 percent of the net attributable profit from last year) to its shareholders, including the dividend and this share buyback program.

Onur Genç remarked on the valuable social contribution made by the Spanish banking sector, at a recent forum organized by the Spanish Banking Association (AEB). According to BBVA’s CEO, “the strength and profitability of Spanish banks is good news for the wider economy.” Looking to the future, “the role of banks, if possible, is more important, as further investments will be needed toward the decarbonization and digitization of the economies.”

BBVA's CEO Onur Genç said that "In the future, we expect economic growth in our main markets, despite the context.” He also stressed that BBVA’s digital strategy has proven successful. One example is the bank's model in Italy. "In one or two years we will consider expanding this model to one or two new markets," he said Tuesday, during his participation at the 30th Financial Sector Meeting, hosted by Spanish daily ABC and Deloitte.

BBVA has stood out in the 2023 stress test of the European Banking Authority (EBA).  The exercise is carried out every two years and examines the banks’ capacity to maintain minimum capital levels and own resource requirements under two scenarios: a baseline and an adverse one. In the baseline scenario BBVA would generate 326 basis points, to a maximum fully-loaded CET1 of 15.87 percent as of December 2025. In the adverse scenario, BBVA would see a capital depletion of 295 basis points, to a fully-loaded CET1 of 9.66 percent. This impact is significantly lower than the average of the European banks surveyed (459 bps). BBVA is the third bank with lowest impact among its comparable group¹.

The Banker magazine, owned by the UK-based Financial Times group, has honored BBVA as Spain’s best-performing and fastest-growing bank. In addition, BBVA is Mexico's leading bank by capital adequacy and ranks among the 'Top 5' in Türkiye, Colombia and Peru. To compile its league table of leading banks, The Banker examines 30 indicators using its own in-house method.

BBVA has given a new boost to its Wealth Management unit within the Private Banking area in Spain to enhance its range of services for individuals with a net worth of over €2 million. With a view to more personalized support for customers, BBVA Private Banking has recruited 28 new bankers (an increase of 38%), bringing the total team to 101 professionals. Of these new entrants, 13 will focus on the Ultra High Net Worth segment (net worth of more than €10 million).

The BBVA Chair gave the opening presentation this Monday at the 40th edition of the APIE Seminar in Santander. Carlos Torres Vila stressed the contribution of the banking sector to Spain’s social and economic progress over the four decades commemorated by the course. He specifically indicated that: “Over the last 40 years, and despite the great economic crisis from a decade ago, credit granted by banks in Spain as part of their main business activity, in other words, channeling deposits toward loans, has added 20 percentage points to GDP per capita,” according to an estimate by BBVA Research. This activity has also had a very positive impact on productivity per hour of work (+31 percent), investment (+27 percent), and private consumption (+11 percent).

Carlos Torres Vila, Chair of BBVA, during a recent visit to Lima unveiled the Group’s new investment plan for Peru. In an interview with the financial newspaper Gestión, he stated that "'we expect 75 percent growth in our investment, based on a plan of S/2,000 million (about €500 million) over the next four years.

During his presentation at the Wake Up, Spain!, event, BBVA Chair, Carlos Torres Vila, stated that the European banking sector, and more specifically Spanish banks, are facing the current situation of uncertainty from a position of unquestionable financial strength, profitability and a very solid capital and liquidity position. He added that BBVA is facing this moment with confidence, and from a strong position due to the very characteristics of its diversified, profitable business model and its cautious risk management.

On Thursday, BBVA CEO Onur Genç was recognized by the Spanish-Turkish Chamber of Commerce in the professional merit category for his career at the bank. At the awards ceremony, Genç reviewed BBVA's role as a link between markets as important as Latin America and Spain and a country with as much potential as Turkey.

The BBVA Board of Directors approved Wednesday the bank adhering to the measures included in the new  Code of Good Practice (CBP in Spanish) to help customers at risk of vulnerability with mortgages, as well as the expansion of the Code of Good Practice, which has been in force since 2012.

BBVA has recently appointed Pierre Goffin the bank's new Country Manager for France. Pierre has more than 25 years' experience in corporate and investment banking and will oversee business in this market. His main objective will be to strengthen relations with large corporations and the leading institutional and investor community in France.

BBVA Global Wealth and the IE Center for Families in Business of IE University conducted a study that analyzed nine “moments of truth” in which business families should reflect and make decisions to reinforce their strategy. Through this report, BBVA will promote the advice that business families receive in Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Switzerland and Uruguay.

BBVA is the first Spanish bank to launch on the wholesale markets, with a euro-denominated senior non-preferred bond of 1 billion euros. The issue has received a high level of demand of two billion euros - double the target, with 125 orders.

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has raised BBVA’s rating to A from A-. The outlook is negative, mirroring the negative outlook of Spain's sovereign rating. S&P underscores BBVA’s strength and geographic diversification, the profitability of its retail banking franchise, its cautious risk management and the strength of its capital, among other factors.

At the 12th Financial Meeting organized today by Expansión and KPMG, BBVA’s CEO said that over the past year the bank has made a series of relevant strategic decisions, such as the sale of its U.S. subsidiary, the largest share buyback in Europe and the takeover bid for a 50.15 percent stake in Turkey’s Garanti BBVA. They all show that “we are very committed to shareholders’ profitability,” he added. Onur Genç also underlined the 2024 objectives that BBVA presented at its Investor Day: “Our goals are very ambitious and we are committed to achieving them.”

During his talk at Investor Day on Thursday, BBVA's Country Manager in Spain, Peio Belausteguigoitia, said that the priority in Spain is profitable growth, which will be based on increasing its customer base. In this regard, he announced that the bank aims to double the annual rate of customer acquisition and expects to attract 3.6 million new customers in the next three years.

BBVA will hold its Investor Day on Thursday, November 18th. The event will allow investors to learn firsthand about  the details and objectives of the bank’s strategy.

The BBVA Group is debuting fully digital retail banking in Italy, with a unique value proposition and customer experience. BBVA is entering the Italian market with free digital banking; one of the most secure cards in the world - as there are no printed numbers on the card, and a dynamic CVV - unmatched in Italy; and financing products at competitive prices.

BBVA is back in the Euro Stoxx 50, Eurozone's main index. Just one year after its exit, the bank's recent good performance on the stock market has allowed it to return to the index, a milestone -exit and re-enter the following year- which at least in the last decade had never happened before. Normally, it takes longer for companies that exit the index to recover their position and re-enter.

BBVA has once again stood out in the latest stress test carried out by the European Banking Authority (EBA). In the adverse scenario BBVA’s fully-loaded CET1 capital ratio at the end of the assessment period (2021-2023) would be reduced on  303 basis points (bps), an impact considerably lower than the 50 European banks average analyzed on the stress test (485 bps). BBVA is the bank with the second lowest impact on capital among comparable European peers. In the baseline scenario, BBVA would generate 128 bps of capital, to reach a fully-loaded CET1 capital ratio of 13 percent in 2023.