BBVA ranked by Standard Ethics as best for sustainability in Spain
BBVA has earned a rating of EE (“strong compliance”), making it the highest-rated bank in Spain and tied for second place worldwide with other entities, according to the latest update of the Standard Ethics Rating (SER). This assessment covers the ESG scores of Europe's 40 largest banks by market capitalization.
The rating recognizes BBVA's strategy, which has placed sustainability as a strategic priority for the bank since 2020, with two main objectives.
The primary goal is to drive new business through sustainability. In 2023, BBVA directed over €70 billion into sustainable business, which is double the amount from two years prior and more than five times the amount from five years ago. The bank has increased its sustainable business targets for the 2018-2025 period twice, raising them from the initial €100 billion to €200 billion, and then to €300 billion in the latest revision. From 2018 to March 2024, BBVA has mobilized €226 billion in sustainable business.
Secondly, BBVA has set intermediate decarbonization targets for 2030 across ten sectors, including electricity, oil and gas, automobile, steel, cement, coal, aviation and maritime transport, aluminum, and real estate in Spain.
Standard Ethics employs a nine-grade scale, ranging from the highest to the lowest score. The ratings considered "sustainable" to varying degrees include: EEE (full compliance), EEE- (excellent compliance), EE+ (very strong compliance), EE (strong compliance), and EE- (adequate compliance). Below these, classified as "not fully sustainable," are the grades E+ (insufficient compliance) and E (low compliance). Companies rated E- (very low compliance) or F (lowest level), are considered "not sustainable."
This classification incorporates new aspects into the vulnerability analysis, suggesting, according to the UK firm, that companies with at least one "double E" rating are structurally better equipped to handle negative events—whether economic, operational, or reputational—and can also reduce their potential frequency.
Standard Ethics is a self-regulated sustainability rating agency that provides non-financial sustainability ratings. Since 2004, the brand Standard Ethics® has been recognized in the realm of sustainable finance and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) studies, aiming to promote standard principles of sustainability and governance drawn from the European Union, the OECD, and the United Nations.
BBVA also achieved the best score in the category of banks in Europe for the fourth consecutive year, and placed third globally, according to the 2023 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the world's benchmark index for sustainability.