The BBVA Group posted a net attributable profit of €3.45 billion during the first nine months of 2017, nearly equal to its profit for the whole of 2016 and an increase of 23.3% from the same period a year earlier (+28.7% at constant exchange rates). A solid performance in terms of recurring income, cost containment and a drop in impairment losses on financial assets were the main factors driving this growth.

These are the ratios that show up the financial position of a bank. This is a disclosure of BBVA’s ratios calculated as of September 2017.

• Operating income: Recurring revenues continued their upward trend, growing 4.2% between January and September. This, together with cost containment efforts (expenses dropped 1.7% in the year to September), drove operating income to a record €9.52 billion
• Risks: The NPL ratio continued to improve, reaching 4.5% in September (vs. 4.8% in June), the lowest level in the past five years. Coverage increased to 72%
• Capital: The fully-loaded CET1 ratio rose to 11.2% in September, reflecting a capital generation of 30 basis points in the first nine months of the year
• Transformation: The digital customer base grew 24% y-o-y to 21.1 million in September. Of these, the number of customers banking with their smartphones surged 43% to 15.8 million

In the technology field, the presence of women as either entrepreneurs or investors is still very limited. However, there are more and more initiatives that view the women-technology combination as an opportunity.

In today's society, there is an increasing demand for sustainable growth and development. To respond to that demand, there are financial instruments such as social bonds, whose resources are by definition destined for projects that improve the social environment. This market has already reached 25.5 billion euros.

BBVA has been in Las Vegas this week, taking part in one of the world’s biggest fintech events, Money 20/20. The scale of the conference is huge - more than 11,000 delegates, including 1,700 CEOs and Presidents, from 4,500 companies and more than 85 countries around the world. BBVA’s CEO, Carlos Torres Vila and its Head of Customer and Client Solutions, Derek White, both attended, alongside several other senior leaders.

This week, several financial institutions will be releasing their earnings reports for the third quarter of the year (3Q 2017). Any bank’s profit and loss account can be interpreted following the five keys we describe in the infographic below.

BBVA Executive Director José Manuel González-Páramo believes the success or failure of a bank in the age of digital disruption involves a combination of internal factors, such as changing the corporate culture, and external factors, like regulation. Speaking at an event organized by the U.S.-Spain Council – where participants analyzed the impact of digital disruption on both sides of the Atlantic  - BBVA’s Executive Director recalled that the banking industry is today in the process of reinventing itself.

BBVA Research has analyzed the potential regulatory scenarios that the financial industry will be facing in the next 5 to 10 years. In its Financial Regulation Outlook report, BBVA Research analysts address some of the questions being asked in Europe over the course and pace that regulators will choose in the medium and long term.