BBVA ranks among the 15 most advanced banks in AI worldwide
BBVA is the world’s thirteenth most advanced bank on account of its ongoing efforts to integrate data and AI technologies, according to the Evident AI Index. More precisely, the bank ranks first in Spain and fourth in Europe, where it is widely recognized as offering outstanding professional development opportunities for its AI specialists and for having defined a Group-wide strategy that permeates the upper echelons of the organization.
The Evident AI Index evaluates the degree of implementation of data and AI technologies at the world’s 50 largest banks. In doing so, it measures more than 90 indicators related to four key areas: talent, innovation (including research, patents, investment and partnerships with third parties), leadership in strategy and public communications, and transparency (responsible AI). tAccording to Evident, the benchmarking and intelligence platform than devised the ranking, AI activity has been relentless across the financial industry over the past year. Moreover, the 50 banks it analyzes have stepped up their efforts to embrace the technology and 80 percent succeeded in improving their performance in 2023.
BBVA tops the list of Spanish banks and ranks fourth in Europe. In the global table, it places thirteenth, having climbed thirteen positions with respect to the 2023 index. It also happens to be one of only four banks that have improved in all the areas under assessment with respect to the previous index.
Notably, BBVA leads the way when it comes to leadership, where it is the seventh most outstanding bank worldwide for having designed a strategy of transversal implementation of technology, which is headed up by the highest levels of the organization. It is also the eighth largest bank globally in terms of its ability to attract talent with expertise in AI and offer them opportunities for professional development and lifelong learning.
“BBVA is now the leading Spanish bank when it comes to AI maturity and ranks in the top-10 of both the Talent and Leadership pillars.”
“Evident AI reflects the fruits of the journey that BBVA began more than a decade ago on the path to integrating data as a growth driver for the entire Group. AI has allowed us to become more efficient and create products that help our clients make those financial decisions, though this is only the tip of the iceberg. At BBVA we are already working with new language models and generative AI, which will undoubtedly have an immense impact on the financial industry,” explains Ricardo Martín Manjón, Global Head of Data at BBVA.
“AI has the potential to reshape and transform how the big banks do business, and we’ve seen a frenzy of AI activity and investment across the global banking industry in 2024. BBVA is one of the most improved banks in the Evident AI Index this year, ranking 13th overall, climbing 13 places since 2023. It is now the leading Spanish bank when it comes to AI maturity and ranks in the top-10 of both the Talent and Leadership pillars”, says Alexandra Mousavizadeh, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Evident.
BBVA has been working for more than a decade with AI technologies in a bid to transform the organization’s internal processes and offer its clients personalized products and services that let them optimize their financial health. Notably, both the app and the website integrate machine learning tools, neural networks and natural language processing, all of which help clients manage their savings and investments and analyze their consumption. The bank also develops AI-enabled products and services for its corporate clients, such as financing for SMEs and small businesses that is tailored to their POS billing.
In 2019, BBVA created the AI Factory to ramp up the search for AI solutions capable of responding to the most complex challenges facing the financial industry. The AI Factory has three centers in Spain, Mexico and Türkiye and more than 400 professionals working together globally to develop projects based on this technology. The bank also offers its AI professionals a community of practice that allows them receive lifelong training in this key proficiency and supports them in furthering their professional careers.
BBVA responded to the rapid emergence of generative AI by positioning itself at the forefront of European banks by signing a pioneering agreement with the company OpenAI. This agreement has enabled it to deploy 3,000 ChatGPT Enterprise licenses among its employees and to train them in how to get the most out of the tool and to do so securely. The aim is to make the bank’s business areas and central services more efficient.