Carlos Torres Vila: "Digital customers have more interactions with us, are more satisfied and loyal"
BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila said this morning in Mexico that "digitization is having a huge impact on customer satisfaction,” resulting in higher levels of engagement. "Digitization is helping customers interact more with us, and they are more satisfied and loyal. This new way of interacting is a powerful lever that is transforming our value proposal, allowing us to help our clients with their lives and businesses in a deeper way,” he added.
Carlos Torres Vila made these statements during the opening of the annual meeting of Regional Advisors of BBVA Bancomer, during which he explained that the BBVA Group already has more than 24 million digital customers and 19.3 million mobile customers, 43 percent more than at the end of the first quarter of 2017. "Today, 36 percent of our customers use their mobile to bank with BBVA and 45 percent are digital customers. In the coming months we expect this number to go over the 50 percent threshold, and for 2019 we should reach a 50 percent figure for mobile customers,” he said.
The BBVA CEO also discussed some of the key takeaways of the Group’s Q1-18 results. He said BBVA posted some "impressive results" (net attributable profit of €1.34 billion), with consistent efficiency improvements and extraordinary trends in digital sales, which already account for almost 37 percent the Group’s total unit sales, virtually three times more than two years ago.
These positive results were largely driven by the broader availability of self-service – or DIY - products through digital channels. About 92 percent of the Group’s product portfolio is already available through these channels, he said. "More and more, our customers engage through digital channels because they are always ready and available and are more convenient, offering optimized and agile experiences, especially when they are well designed as is our case," he said.
In this new age, Carlos Torres Vila said, customer data is to play a pivotal role. "We believe that consent is a key element when it comes to accessing our customers’ data. That data is also the key to creating opportunities (for our customers) as it allows us to gain insights, anticipate problems, provide better recommendations, and ultimately, offer added value.”
BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila during his speech at the annual Meeting of Regional Advisors of BBVA Bancomer.
The BBVA CEO underscored the importance of delivering digital products that assist customers in solving their money issues. Some of these at BBVA include BBVA Invest, which helps find the best investment solution for savings, or BBVA Valora, a solution that helps both customers and non-customers in their home-buying efforts. BBVA Valora, he said, has been hugely successful in Spain, was recently launched in Mexico and will soon be rolled out in Colombia.
Commitment with society and sustainable development
Carlos Torres Vila devoted the second part of his speech to focus on BBVA’s commitment to sustainable development, an initiative known as ‘Pledge 2025’. He reiterated that the Group plans to mobilize €100 billion to a) help move toward a more sustainable, low carbon economy, b) to foster financial inclusion and social entrepreneurship and c) to promote sustainable infrastructure and agri-business.
BBVA has also specific commitments related to sustainability: “We are pledging that effective in 2025, 70 percent of the energy the Group uses will be renewable and we also intend to reduce our direct CO2 emissions by 68 percent,” he said. Additionally, BBVA will engage all stakeholders to collectively promote a higher contribution from the financial sector to initiatives related to sustainable development.
As an example, he mentioned the reopening of the ‘General Pedro María Anaya / 21 de Marzo’ school. The school’s reconstruction (in the wake of last year’s earthquakes) was made possible thanks to a donation from BBVA, and the participation of collaborators and other companies. The 270-million pesos project allowed some 600 students to return to class.
To conclude, the BBVA CEO addressed the values supporting the Group’s transformation. He said for BBVA 'the customer is first', which means that the bank works from the customers’ perspective, working to solve their problems and meet their needs. Secondly, BBVA 'thinks big', which means that it strives to break the hold, innovate and promotes change. Finally, the Group acts as 'one team', which is a personal commitment on the part of employees to the bank, the project, and customers. “We speak of mutual trust, we behave like owners, we are all BBVA, " he concluded.