BBVA’s CEO sat down with Turkish news agency Anadolu to discuss the current scenario facing Turkey’s economy and banking system. Onur Genç expressed his optimism regarding Turkey's progress at the economic level and considers that banks are in good shape to face this crisis. Digitization, in his opinion, will be key for banks in the current scenario. In this sense, he cited Garanti BBVA as an example of a digital leader, with almost nine million digital customers, eight million of whom are mobile.

BBVA placed a €1 billion  inaugural COVID-19 social bond on the market today, making it the first private financial institution in Europe to do so. Demand was close to €5 billion, nearly five times more than the initial offer. The funds will be primarily allocated to mitigating the severe economic and social impact caused directly and indirectly by the COVID-19 pandemic. The interest rate was set at 112 basis points over mid-swap, 33 basis points below the initial target price (145 bps over mid-swap).

BBVA, in partnership FinIQ, a market leading fintech company, is announcing the launch of BBVA epricer, a website for its equities and credit linked structured products. The website is designed to help professionals structure and obtain prices for equity and credit linked investment products that aim to either provide an enhanced yield or exposure to the underlying investment. In the current environment, where remote work has become the new normal, the website provides a digital channel for BBVA clients to request from the simplest to the most exotic investment proposals.

Social bonds, as debt instruments that enable project financing with a positive social impact, have been gaining traction among issuers in recent years. In 2019, these kinds of issuances outpaced previous volume records, and issuance activity of this type will undoubtedly be driven by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This is the view of analysts at BBVA Global Markets Research.

Between last week and this week, the bank will reopen an additional 250 branches, to coincide with Spain's careful easing of confinement restrictions. BBVA has also initiated the gradual return to work for those employees who fulfill critical business functions. The health of the bank’s customers and staff is the fundamental factor guiding this process. In the next few days, 200 employees and external contractors will return to their posts in central services, and 1,300 staff will return to branch offices throughout Spain.

Over recent years open banking has become synonymous with the digitalization and transformation of the financial sector. New regulation has been one of the major drivers, starting in Europe before quickly spreading around the world.

Analysts praised BBVA’s foresight as the group booked €1.43 billion in provisions during the first quarter to cover the expected impact of COVID-19 on its business. The Group’s capital ratio was another one of the quarter's standouts.  The reports published by analysts also focused on BBVA’s strong top-line growth and the soundness of the messages conveyed by the bank’s management, particularly in connection with its expectations regarding provisions and capital generation.

Garanti BBVA’s posted a net income of 1.68 billion Turkish lira for the first quarter of the year. The bank’s total amount of assets stood at 456.17 billion Turkish lira, 65% of which are funded through deposits. Deposits grew by 7% percent in the first quarter, reaching 295.92 billion Turkish lira. The bank also contributed a total of 346.58 billion Turkish lira to the economy through cash and non-cash loans. Garanti BBVA’s capital adequacy ratio was 16.6%, with a return on average equity (ROAE) of 12.4% and a return on average assets (ROAA) of 1.5%.

BBVA and Allianz have reached an agreement to create a bancassurance partnership, aimed at jointly boosting the non-life insurance business in Spain. The partnership brings together two strong and innovative global leaders with common strategic priorities. It also combines the expertise of industry partner Allianz, a leader in innovation and product development in bancassurance, with BBVA’s client knowledge and network distribution, offering customers products and solutions to improve their financial health and that of their businesses. The agreement, which is subject to the approval of regulatory authorities, is expected to generate a net profit of c. €300 million and c. 7 basis points on BBVA Group fully-loaded CET1 capital ratio, according to the initial price set at c. €277 million. Additionally, Allianz could pay up to €100 million more, depending on a series of goals.

BBVA acted as the sole advisory bank and bookrunner in the issue of the bond, Spain’s first in support of the public health system and to combat the COVID -19 outbreak. The bond, issued by the Community of Madrid, was entirely by Spanish insurer MAPFRE, will be the underlying asset of MAPFRE Compromiso Sanitario, the three-year asset-backed fund announced earlier this week by MAPFRE AM.