Partnerships for the ODS goals

New York Climate Week, held alongside the United Nations General Assembly during the last week of September, has confirmed its status as a key venue—second only to the COPs—for advancing the global sustainability agenda.

Banking sector commitment to UN Principles of Responsible Banking gains firm and steady traction: two years after launch 240 institutions have already become signatories. We take a look at this project of United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the progress achieved since it launched two years ago.

BBVA is the first Spanish bank to join 'Every Action Counts', a coalition promoted by the Green Digital Finance Alliance (GDFA). This coalition was created with the goal of engaging, through technological and digital initiatives, 1 billion citizens around the world to drive action and environmental awareness by 2025.

BBVA reinforces its commitment to reducing the risks of climate change and joins PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials), an alliance that enables financial institutions to assess and disclose the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions  of loans and investments.

BBVA commits to reporting ESG metrics, as part of the Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism initiative, adopted by 61 member companies of the Davos World Economic Forum and a group of top executives who are part of its International Business Council (IBC).

Today, international banks BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING, Société Générale and Standard Chartered (also known as ‘the Katowice Banks’) published a report on the application of the PACTA methodology, designed to steer their credit portfolios towards the objective of the Paris Climate Agreement. This report aims at helping banking peers to quickly understand and apply this methodology and thus publish comparable results.

BBVA and Grupo Piñero agreed three sustainable bilateral financing deals on behalf of Levantur. These are the first sustainable bilateral loans to be guaranteed by Spain’s Official Institute of Credit (ICO). The Spanish tourist Group will use the financing for liquidity and working capital needs arising from the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

BBVA and the Korean energy company, SK Innovation, have signed a working capital loan of €100 million to expand the company’s electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities in Europe. This transaction is the first working capital loan certified by BBVA in Asia in compliance with its sustainable transaction banking framework.

BBVA and Acerinox make history by closing the first sustainable transaction in the steel industry in Spain. The deal, a bilateral loan totaling €80 million with a maturity of five years, is intended to partially finance the Acerinox acquisition of VDM Metals.

BBVA is partnering with the IMDEA Software Institute, which belongs to a network of international research centers in Madrid, on the development of advanced cryptographic techniques. This technology is key to the creation of data-based digital solutions that protect the privacy and security of users’ data.

It is the first international sustainable supply chain finance line (a product also known as confirming or reverse factoring) set up by Acciona, a leader in providing sustainable solutions for infrastructure and renewable energy projects. The €15 million line will be used to streamline payments to suppliers in the ‘Ness Energy Project’, a waste-to-power plant in Scotland. As a result, a total of 25 European suppliers will benefit from the early collection of the receivables they issue in consideration for services rendered to this infrastructure.

BBVA’s Open Innovation unit is charged with ensuring the bank stays up to date with the latest fintech disruption happening anywhere in the world.

Cisco Chairman and CEO Chuck Robbins visited BBVA headquarters on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of their strategic partnership.

BBVA has certified as green three non-recourse factoring operations from the wind turbine manufacturer Nordex. Closed in 2019 for approximately €265 million, the operations will deduct invoices from wind turbine supplies that the Germany company will provide the builder of various wind farms.

BBVA’s Center for Financial Education and Capability is celebrating its third anniversary on February 6th. Since it was first established, this platform, which seeks to promote financial education as a driver to improve people’s financial health, has benefited from the collaboration of 100 different organizations participating in its initiatives. The center also serves as a complete information repository on the subject, and has showcased nearly 250 reports and publications and 140 best practices around the world.

BBVA participated at a conference in Luxembourg organized by United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). During the forum, which coincided with the start of the Climate Summit in Madrid, BBVA laid out its strategy to help its customers transition toward a low-carbon economy and integrate climate risks into their decision-making.

The BBVA and Anthemis Venture Studio has announced its second partnership, with innovative homebuying fintech StepLadder.

BBVA is one of the signatories of the Principles for Responsible Banking, promoted by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). These Principles embody the commitment of 130 banking institutions and the United Nations to take on the climate emergency and sustainability challenges facing society today.

BBVA and Pestana Hotel Group have reached a new milestone in the sustainable finance market, issuing the world’s first green bond in the hotel industry, according to the International Capital Markets Association’s (ICMA) Green Bond Principles. The €60 million bond has a maturity of 6 years and was placed among professional institutional investors.

Grupo Piñero, a Spanish group dedicated to the vacation industry, closed a bilateral sustainable financing deal with BBVA. The bank acted as the sustainability coordinator. The agreement involves a €20 million revolving credit facility (RCF), which is aligned to the tourism company’s firm commitment to holistic and long-term strategic sustainability.

CIE Automotive wanted to benefit from BBVA’s experience and advice in its first sustainable financing with a commercial bank. The international industrial group formalized an €80 million bilateral sustainable loan with the bank.

Atlantic Copper, with the support of BBVA, has made its debut in the sustainable financing market by drawing up of two bilateral financing deals worth a combined total of €44 million. This activity confirms both companies’ strategic commitment to become aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030.

BBVA is consolidating its leadership in Europe’s green financing market by signing a EUR 25 Mn bilateral green loan with Katoen Natie, a Belgian logistics and engineering company. This transaction represents an important landmark as it is the first green financing closed in Belgium by BBVA. Furthermore, BBVA is not only acting as lender but also as advisor on their Sustainable Finance Framework. The loan is in favour of a subsidiary of Katoen Natie for an innovative industrial recycling plant which will result in the recycling of chemical residues while also recovering materials and producing energy for neighboring industries.

This week marks yet another milestone for BBVA in the European green financing arena. ESB, the leading Irish Utility, has chosen BBVA to act as green structuring bank and joint bookrunner in their inaugural EUR 500 million green bond. This is the first ever green bond issued by an Irish corporate and the net proceeds from the transaction will be destined to finance eligible green projects, mainly under the following categories: renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation and green buildings.

BBVA signed the so-called New Deal for Europe based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - a letter CSR Europe presented today in Brussels. The letter aims to alert and involve companies, politicians and civil society about the need to join forces for a sustainable future. The heads of 100 large corporations subscribed to this declaration in the lead up to the European elections. BBVA is the only Spanish bank to join this initiative.

BBVA acted as advisor and lead coordinator in the first-ever sustainable bond issued by Government of Navarre. For the first time in its history, Navarra will finance projects with a positive environmental or societal impact through capital markets.

BBVA is debuting its recently announced framework for sustainable transactional products linked to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Italy with an operation formalized with Iren, one of the leading multi-service companies in the country.