Luisa Gómez Bravo, Global Head of BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking, is in attendance at the World Economic Forum held in the Swiss city of Davos and was one of the speakers at a round table on the mergers and acquisitions market titled 'Will the M&A Boom Last?'. After a record year of M&A deals in 2021, the current economic scenario augurs a decline in this market, due to its high exposure to the international geopolitical context. Even so, mergers and acquisitions continue to offer great opportunities in infrastructure, ESG projects and investment in real assets.

Remote commerce has grown exponentially in recent years, a trend that has been driven by the pandemic. During lockdowns, ecommerce skyrocketed and payments via apps and cell phones grew at a dizzying rate. On top of this, new technologies were already favoring the emergence of new, more convenient payment methods and boosting e-commerce.

As a result of the voluntary takeover bid for the 50.15 percent that BBVA did not own in Garanti BBVA, the Group acquired shares of its Turkish unit, which account for 36.12 percent of its social capital, reaching a total stake of 85.97 percent.

BBVA has placed €1.75 billion in a 3.5-year senior preferred debt issue, maturing in November 2025. The high demand made the issuance of two tranches possible, one with a fixed coupon, of which 1.25 billion was placed, and the other at a variable rate, with a placement of 500 million.

BBVA CEO Onur Genç stated that “BBVA has a competitive advantage” in the context of digital acceleration resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Digitization boosts our business,” he said during his presentation at the 17th Banking Industry Meeting organized by IESE in Madrid. In March 2022, BBVA added 90,000 new customers in Spain - the largest monthly figures in its history. Over half (52.25 percent) of these customers reached the bank through digital channels.

At the presentation of results for the first quarter, BBVA's CEO, Onur Genç, said the bank sees an improved outlook for Spain and Mexico in 2022, "thanks to better-than-expected business dynamics." He pointed out that business dynamics are "highly positive" in all geographies.

BBVA's Board of Directors has agreed to increase the price offered for each share of the 50.15 percent of Garanti BBVA, from the initially announced (12.20 Turkish lira) to 15 Turkish lira.

BBVA has reached an agreement to purchase Tree Inversiones Inmobiliarias SOCIMI from Merlin Properties. The company has 665 offices rented to BBVA. These offices that currently belong to Merlin are part of the package that BBVA sold to Tree Inversiones in 2009-2019 under a sale and lease back contract.

International guarantees, also known as “bank guarantees,” “guarantee bonds,” or “standby letters of credit,” are a key tool for companies that operate internationally, as they ensure that economic obligations will be properly performed. Under this instrument, the guarantor expresses a willingness to fulfill the commitments of the principal obligor facing a third party if the principal fails to do so.