Carlos Torres Vila (BBVA): “The reinvention of a bank doesn’t end”
Reinvention is a process that “doesn’t end,” says Carlos Torres Vila, Chair of BBVA, in his interview with Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, as part of the 'Reinvented with Accenture' campaign. Torres says that “embedding change as a value in itself to fight the status quo” has been key to BBVA's success.
BBVA has been chosen by Accenture to inaugurate 'Reinvented with Accenture,' a series of interviews in which the consultancy's CEO, Julie Sweet, talks to some of the world's top business leaders about how they are reinventing their business models in the face of the ongoing challenges they face.
Sweet describes BBVA as “inspiring” for its successful transformation: the bank has nearly tripled its number of new customers over the past five years and swiftly positioned itself as Europe’s most sustainable bank according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
In this interview, Sweet and Torres Vila talk about how to transform a large corporation to embrace these challenges as new opportunities.
Torres Vila acknowledges that the bank's transformation process has been challenging, particularly for an institution with such a long history of success. The establishment of a digital division in 2014 was a significant milestone in BBVA's digital reinvention, as it positioned transformation as a strategic priority for the entire Group.
Today, 80 percent of the bank's customers use mobile as their primary interaction channel, and BBVA acquires 65 percent of its new customers digitally. The BBVA Chair points out that the digital transformation provides “a better customer experience.”
Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, and Carlos Torres Vila, Chair of BBVA, during the interview. /Accenture
This reinvention has taken place at great speed. The key has been that BBVA has embedded change in the day-to-day running of the bank. Torres Vila sees change as a value in itself to fight the status quo and stresses the importance of having an innovative culture and talent in BBVA's transformation. Both agree that reinvention “is a continuous process that doesn’t end.”
The BBVA Chair puts the spotlight on sustainability as one of humanity's greatest challenges and a substantial opportunity. For BBVA, banks play a crucial role not just in financing the transition to a more sustainable economy but also in supporting their customers throughout the decarbonization process.
The interview ends with some key points on how to approach reinvention: “It's having a vision, conviction, the courage to make bold decisions, and then patience and resilience maintaining that steering wheel,” the BBVA Chair says.