Used BBVA Compass desktops, laptops and laser printers found new purpose with a recent donation to the Housing Authority Birmingham District.

When the U.K. voted to leave the EU vote on June 24th, a series of unknowns started to emerge that have Europe in suspense to this day. Among the many questions to be resolved, the referendum has called into question London’s status as the financial center of Europe.

Today, BBVA CFO Jaime Saénz de Tejada stressed the important role the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) plays as a partner and lender for Latin America’s private sector. He also underscored BBVA’s close relationship with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with which the bank is collaborating on numerous fronts.

Amid the regulatory tsunami hitting banks, financial institutions are especially interested in a new European regulation that will come into effect starting January 1, 2018. It’s Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments - also known as MIFID II.

Last Thursday, BBVA launched its first public debt issue of 2017: A 1 billion euro 5-year senior unsecured bond. The bank completed the transaction with the lowest coupon in history (0.625%) for this type of product, with this maturity, for a Spanish issuer.

In its December 2016 Banking Outlook report, BBVA Research reviews the most relevant trends and developments in the banking sector. The report analyzes the current status of Spanish banks and also examines the changing regulatory context in the European financial sector.

Traditionally, regulation and supervision have played a key role in developing the banking sector. They have ensured its stability and solvency, the protection of its consumers and the improvement of its efficiency. Now, regulatory and supervisory authorities are faced with an additional challenge: to draw up a regulatory framework that achieves the right balance between promoting new digital value propositions and protecting against the risks inherent to the digitalization of financial services.

Bitcoin, the digital currency whose anonymity attracted drug dealers and tax evaders, is on a roll again. But after a renewed price spike that echoes its first speculative bubble three years ago, even many of the currency's backers warn that another sharp correction is likely to follow.