- Quorum was over 62%

- Financial statements approved with support from more than 99% of the votes

Francisco González was re-elected Group Executive Chairman of BBVA, with over 96% of the votes during the Annual General Meeting held today in Bilbao. In 2013 he was re-elected with 90.9% of votes.

Annual General Meeting 2016

Once again, a bond issue by BBVA in the debt market has been very well received by investors. This morning, the bank completed the issue of a 1.25 billion mortgage bond. High demand, which soared past the €2.7 billion mark, has allowed the company to go to the market at very competitive prices.

After the words of Mario Draghi at the January meeting, leaving the door open to expand the measures of the European Central Bank this month, these are BBVA Research forecasts for the meeting tomorrow.

Who do we have in mind when referring to globally relevant women? Well, not about Beyoncé in music nor Angela Merkel in politics. We talk about the three women at the head of the three most relevant economic organizations in the world: The US Federal Reserve, the International Monetary Fund, and the Single Supervisory Mechanism of the European Central Bank. In this article, we take look at some of the career highlights of these leaders and how they have shaped their respective institutions, at this crucial time for the global economy.

Market downfalls at the beginning of the year have put investors on guard. The sharp decline in oil prices and questions over the Chinese economy leave their mark on the global economic outlook. BBVA Asset Management expects to see moderate growth in the global economy in 2016 but suggests caution when building portfolios due to increased risk. Diversification and hedging are necessary.

It is common knowledge that markets dislike uncertainty. Investor doubts tend to translate into massive sales and sharp drops in capital markets, but presenting a believable message that gives an outlook of growth, or at least stability, can lead to significant gains.

Three Oxford University professors researched the impact of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) presenting a new strategy on companies’ stock market value. They concluded that most of these statements had a significant impact on stock prices. The effect is even greater for recently appointed CEOs, and even more so if the new CEOs come from outside firms.

The bank and First Direct offer their 15 million customers biometric banking software for accessing their accounts online and by phone using their fingerprint or voice.

Over the last few years, Europe has lived through a perfect storm. Recession has strained its economic and political institutions to the limit. The situation was enough to keep anyone from being able to sleep: banking crisis, sovereign debt crisis, risk that the euro would disintegrate and risk of deflation. However, Europe has survived this perfect storm "thanks to the role played by the European Central Bank during the crisis and the institutional encouragement of European authorities toward building a genuine banking union," says José Manuel González-Páramo in an article in "Cuardenos de Información Económica" by Funcas under the title The ECB and banking union: working toward a more integrated and resilient Europe.