The winners of the 18th Türkiye’s Women Entrepreneurs Competition, organized by Garanti BBVA alongside Ekonomist magazine and the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Türkiye (KAGİDER), have just been announced at an award ceremony held on February 27.

Photo cover: Garanti BBVA CEO Mahmut Akten and Özlem Kahramaner, Türkiye's female entrepreneur of the year.

The technological innovations underlying cryptocurrencies, such as cryptography and distributed ledger technology (DLT), can also be applied to traditional assets like financial instruments or fiat currencies. Tokenization enables the "digitization" of these assets, representing them as tokens and granting them properties with significant potential to enhance and improve the financial system.

BBVA Spark signed a €30 million financing agreement with MytripleA, the alternative financing platform with working capital solutions for businesses. The agreement aims to boost the platform’s growth and allow it to continue developing new products for customers and investors.

Header photo: From left to right: Jorge Antón and Sergio Antón, co-founders at MytripleA, and Miguel Ángel Alcalá, head of BBVA Spark Spain.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) recently recognized Garanti BBVA’s efforts in sustainable development by including the bank in its global ‘A’ List of its Climate Change and Water Security Programs.

The BBVA Foundation has awarded the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Economics, Finance and Business Management category to Olivier Blanchard (Paris School of Economics and MIT), Jordi Galí (Centre for Research in International Economics and Pompeu Fabra University) and Michael Woodford (Columbia University) in recognition of their profound influence on modern macroeconomics and the design of monetary and fiscal policy rules.

Ten years have passed since the implementation of a supervisory system for banks in Europe to help them absorb losses in the event of a crisis so that the state doesn't have to bail them out. Needless to say, much progress has been made in this last decade: banks have become significantly more resilient, are compliant with MREL requirements, and have designed and tested recovery and resolution plans. Moreover, Europe has gained some experience in actually implementing the resolution framework following the failures of Banco Popular and Sberbank.

BBVA is set to channel €700 billion in sustainable business between 2025 to 2029, more than double the previous target of €300 billion set for the 2018–2025 period, which it reached in December 2024, one year ahead of schedule. This new, more ambitious objective will also run for a shorter period (five years as opposed to eight).

BBVA has received the approval of the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) to acquire indirect control of Banco Sabadell’s Mexican banking franchise. BBVA has now received all the necessary authorizations from Mexican regulators.

At a meeting with Turkish media, CEO Mahmut Akten shared Garanti BBVA’s strategies and 2025 goals, while assessing the state of the global and Türkiye’s economies and the banking sector. Akten acknowledged ongoing global economic uncertainty but expressed optimism, citing Türkiye’s macroeconomic program and a balancing trend in the banking sector.  The event, held at the Pendik Technology Campus, also included a visit to Garanti BBVA’s TIER IV-certified Data Center.

The announcement by Ursula von der Leyen on November 8th regarding the Omnibus initiative caught more than one person off guard and is still causing quite a stir. On this day, the re-elected President of the European Commission indicated her intention to present an initiative in 2025 to “reduce bureaucracy and the regulatory burden” related to sustainability. She specifically made reference to three regulations: the Taxonomy Regulation, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

BBVA issued a €1 billion, 12-year Tier 2 subordinated bond this Monday, drawing demand of €4.7 billion, almost five times the offering. The pricing was set at mid-swap +165 basis points, significantly below the initial guidance of mid-swap +200 basis points.

The bank has reached 35.4 percent women in managerial positions, exceeding the target of 35 percent by 2024. Initiatives such as the global program ‘Yo soy talento feminino’ (I am female talent), is helping to boost the development of women with greater potential.

BBVA has updated its personal virtual assistant Blue, integrated in its app, making it more personalized. Blue now has enhanced abilities to interact with customers using natural language, provide tailored information on their finances, and perform some of the most common account and card transactions. In parallel, BBVA created a co-pilot to facilitate the daily work of branch employees. With these initiatives, BBVA is moving forward with its strategy to put artificial intelligence (AI) at the disposal of its customers, and mark the beginning of a new stage in digital banking management. The roll-out of the new assistant Blue, with the AI Factory team participating in the technical aspects, will take place on February 20th in Spain and gradually reach all of the bank’s customers.

Garanti BBVA, one of Türkiye’s leading banks with its investments in technology, has once again earned Tier IV Certification of Operational Sustainability – Gold TCOS from Uptime Institute, the highest certification for data center infrastructure worldwide. With this achievement, Garanti BBVA’s data center is now one of only 24 in the world to boast this accolade.

BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) reinforces its commitment to innovation with the integration of BBVA Spark and the group’s Digital Assets & Blockchain strategy. This restructuring strengthens its leadership in advanced financial solutions and the digital transformation of the industry.

The BBVA Foundation is once again sponsoring the Salt Artistic Research and Production Grant Program, now in its 2025 edition. This initiative aims to create a dynamic platform for artistic research and production, supporting artists from Türkiye who explore contemporary social issues through interdisciplinary approaches.

Girls start to lose interest in science as they approach adolescence. This ‘abrupt’ change takes place at the age of 16, according to a recent Microsoft. On the 10th anniversary of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Carmen Lópex, Head of Engineering at BBVA Spain, and Alicia Mancheño, a member of the Technovation Girls Advisory Board, reflected on how to combat the prejudices and stereotypes that turn girls away from these professions.

Exoticca, a leading company in the digitization of high-value travel, has secured a new €25 million financing agreement with BBVA Spark. This debt agreement, which builds on the €4 million agreement signed with BBVA Spark last year, will support the company's international expansion and drive its investment in technology.

Garanti BBVA recently held a ‘Demo Day’ event in celebration of the five startups that completed the 2nd year of its Garanti BBVA Partners Tech Program.The program aims to support newly founded tech startups with the potential to attract investment and grow.

The aviation industry consumes 380 billion liters of fuel every year, or three percent of global  CO2 emissions. Sustainable aviation fuels  (SAF) are the most advanced cleantech alternative to decarbonize this industry, with innovations such as those of the startup Twelve, which have managed to reduce emissions by up to 90 percent compared to traditional fuels.

The more a company grows and increases its profitability, the greater its positive impact on the economy and people. During the presentation of the 2024 results, BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila explained how the bank will allocate its revenue and profit, with a greater social impact.

Garanti BBVA continues to lead the way when it comes to digital transformation, adding value for its customers while steering the industry with its innovative solutions. In 2024, the bank’s mobile banking app, Garanti BBVA Mobil, reached over 16.5 million active users, making it one of Türkiye’s most popular banking apps.

BBVA channeled €99 billion in sustainable business in 2024, setting a new annual record for the Group. BBVA reached this target of €300 billion in the 2018-2025 period one year earlier than planned.

During the annual earnings presentation of BBVA, which saw profit exceeding €10 billion in 2024 and profitability (ROTE) close to 20 percent, its Chair, Carlos Torres Vila, remarked on the bank’s exceptional ability to generate value for its shareholders. More precisely, BBVA will distribute €5 billion among its shareholders—in the form of cash dividends and share buybacks— against 2024 earnings. In his view, the offer presented to Banco Sabadell is highly attractive and he is confident that it will go ahead, as the combination will create more value for shareholders than what both banks could generate going it alone. Meanwhile, BBVA CEO Onur Genç stated that BBVA expects to maintain its current levels of profitability throughout 2025 and confirmed Mexico’s growth potential. He also announced that the bank will hold an Investor Day later in the year.

BBVA has appointed Antonio Bravo as the Global Head of Data. He will replace Ricardo Martín Manjón, who’s leaving the bank to embark on new professional projects.

Garanti BBVA announced its financial results as of December 31, 2024. Net income totaled TL 92.18 billion while assets stood at TL 3 trillion. The bank also contributed TL 2 trillion to the economy through cash and non-cash loans. Customer deposits funded 70 percent of assets, with a total customer deposit base of TL 2.10 trillion (up 30.8 percent in 2024). Garanti BBVA also reported a capital adequacy ratio of 18.2 percent,*  Return on Average Equity (ROAE) of 32.5 percent and Return on Average Assets (ROAA) of 3.5 percent.

*Does not include the forbearance introduced by BRSA

BBVA has been implementing various plans and initiatives to attract the best tech talent (engineers, mathematicians, and experts in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data management) - one of the most in-demand fields in the job market and a key aspect of the bank’s digital strategy. In the last three years, BBVA has added 10,100 new data and technology professionals to its workforce. The bank expects to boost this number with 1,100 new hires to reach a total workforce of 20,000 people dedicated to these roles.

BBVA CEO Onur Genç proclaimed at The World Economic Forum that in the Iberian Peninsula “we have in front of us a great opportunity to promote cleantech investment on a major scale.” In his view, it is essential to harness the development of industrial clusters in Spain and Portugal to lead the energy transition in Europe. In this context, the Iberian Peninsula has tremendous potential to generate economic growth on the back of clean technologies.

The BBVA Foundation has granted its Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Information and Communication Technologies to Anil K. Jain (Michigan State University, United States) and Michael I. Jordan (University of California, Berkeley, United States) for their “core contributions” to machine learning, which have unlocked developments in biometrics and artificial intelligence.

For the third consecutive year, the bank received the ‘Top Employer 2025’ seal, which accredits BBVA as a role model for talent management in Spain.

Three micro-entrepreneurs running small cocoa farming businesses were the stars of ‘Seeds for a sustainable future’, an event organized by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation under the presidency of Queen Letizia of Spain. The Queen, who underlined the Foundation’s invaluable work in supporting the progress of millions of people, was accompanied by BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila and by renowned pastry chef Jordi Roca.

Garanti BBVA Crypto Asset Trading Platform, part of the Garanti BBVA Group, recently announced that Korcan Abalı will be stepping down as CEO and Onur Güven will replace him. Güven has been a senior manager at a variety of renowned financial technology companies.

Quantum computing, new energy sources, and AI agents: 2025 is set to be defined by a renewed drive for potentially disruptive technologies, with global technology investment projected to grow by 9 percent, according to Gartner.

The finance department plays a pivotal role in the transformation of an organization. Although the CFO (chief financial officer) has traditionally been viewed as the guardian of a company’s finances, they happen to play a much bigger role. They help to shape the strategic roadmap needed to embark on this transformation and allocate the resources to make it all happen. This is what Luisa Gómez Bravo, Global Head of Finance at BBVA, had to say in a recent interview published by Forbes magazine, together with Carmen de Pablo, Chief Financial, Strategy and Sustainability Officer at Moeve, and Laura Abasolo, Chief Financial and Control Officer at Telefónica.

The BBVA Foundation has honored four researchers with the Frontiers of Knowledge Award for their groundbreaking work in establishing the biological foundations for a new class of drugs. These drugs are highly effective in treating type 2 diabetes, promoting significant weight loss in obese individuals, and reducing their risk of cardiovascular issues.