Financial inclusion

The surge in online banking has heralded many benefits for customers who insist on being able to bank wherever and whenever they choose. However, the digital revolution has been harder for many older customers, who are not very Internet savvy, and for those living in villages and rural parts of Spain. Moreover, customers finding it hard to keep up with their payment obligations need solutions, such as tailoring installments to their payment capacity or having their loan refinanced. Banks have reacted to these social demands and are stepping up to the challenge.

BBVA’s Turkish unit is launching the ‘Women who know their accounts’ program as part of its strategy for inclusive growth. The aim of the program is to support women who are not familiar with banking services, to help them discover their potential and ensure a more active participation in economic life. The program will support them by providing training in basic financial matters and in managing their personal finances.

Celia Mosquera has had to reinvent herself three times after being forcibly displaced by violence in Colombia. Her story is one example of the remarkable resilience of micro entrepreneurs supported by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF): 60 percent of them managed to overcome poverty after five years of assistance and finance from the entities within the foundation.

BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila announced today at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos that BBVA and the Edison Alliance are joining forces with the BBVA Microfinance Foundation's commitment to contribute to the digital inclusion of vulnerable populations in Latin America.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has just published the Private Philanthropy for Development statistics detailing the contribution of the 40 largest foundations in the world. For the third consecutive year, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) is the second worldwide and the first in Latin America.

EduFin Summit, the annual benchmark event on financial education organized by BBVA's Center for Financial Education and Capability, is back after a year of absence due to the pandemic. This year's online edition will begin on May 12 for five days during a three-week-period. Edufin Summit 2021 will address the state of financial education in the post-COVID era and the value of financial knowledge for contributing to inclusive growth, among other topics.

The many manifestations of COVID-19 have made us susceptible to associating any of its wide-ranging symptoms to the virus and we forget that other conditions still exist and need to be tended to. More worrisome is the fact that globally, public health measures to control the pandemic, including mobility restrictions and prioritization of COVID-19 treatment, coupled with the economic crisis that is producing an increase in poverty, has made it even more challenging for low-income patients to access treatment in a timely manner. In Latin America, according to Pfizer, the number of medical consultations  and oncological visits nearly halved. Moreover, in the region, having medical coverage and access to basic health care is limited to very few people.

For yet another year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the data reported by nearly 40 of the largest foundations in member countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), to showcase the impact of private philanthropy. For second year running, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) ranks as the leading contributor to development in Latin America, and the world's second, next to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

45 minutes by motorcycle, half an hour by boat and 15 minutes on foot. That is how Sergio Pacheco and Victor Madera, loan officers of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation in Colombia, manage to bring financial services where no one else does. This journey is just one example among the numerous cases that can be found in the countries where the Foundation works. These are the lengths to which they go to reach those who live outside the financial system, which is another barrier to their progress. In 2020, BBVAMF has banked nearly 300,000 people in Colombia and Peru, and its two institutions combined have reached more than 2.1 million clients.

Onur Genç participated in ‘The Global Boardroom: Shaping the recovery’ forum organized by the Financial Times, where he shared his vision of the pandemic's effect on the banking sector. The BBVA CEO pointed out that this crisis has accelerated certain dynamics, such as the digitization of banks' business models, although this trend "was already in place." For example, he explained that customer interactions in the bank's app have multiplied by fivefold in the last year.

Much is said about financial inclusion's impact in people’s sustainable development: access to financial services is the gateway to an improved well-being and a necessary condition to guarantee equal opportunities, in addition to promoting growth. Institutions like the BBVA Microfinance Foundation facilitate this inclusion, something which, beyond its tangible value, empowers people to gradually enhance their financial management skills and, overtime, gain access to products and services from the formal banking system.

The 9th of August is the day the United Nations honors the indigenous people for their efforts in protecting biodiversity and a millenium-old culture. They comprise 6% of the world’s population but their territory houses 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. Indigenous communities possess valuable knowledge on how to preserve the environment and care for natural resources. However, they face challenges that put their survival at risk, such as the lack of basic services like health -especially during the COVID-19 pandemic- or access to finance. Among other obstacles that hinder their progress is the lack of infrastructure, but the language barrier is also significant.

An agricultural engineer, a painter, a baker, a shoemaker, Jorge Domínguez is a modern day “Renaissance Man.” He is also a 63 year old Venezuelan migrant in Pamplona, Colombia that fled his country three years ago in search of a better life for his family.

Queen Letizia joined the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) on a videoconference to discuss how COVID-19 is impacting Latin American micro-enterprises and to learn about the measures the foundation has put in place via its entities in the five countries it operates (Colombia, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Chile, and Panama).

BBVA has named the winner of its newly created Open Talent Award for Sustainability as Australian last mile start-up AgUnity.

She dreams big because she’s not afraid to fail; because failure is not part of her equation. She says this with the authority of someone who’s endured a rough childhood and has a role model to look up to. Yamile Salazar is the daughter of a woman who decided to bring her to this world despite hardship, with the only certainty that she would be able to provide for her. And those past efforts are starting to pay off: Yamile’s life undeniably proves that everything is possible, because she’s built a future out of nothing. Today, 90 people, mostly women, work for her and thousands of young women dream to wear some of her “Angels and Princesses” designs, creations of the clothing universe that embodies Yamile’s passion.

BBVA was recognized in six different categories in the 2019 edition of the Euromoney Awards for Excellence. The bank won the award for the ‘World’s best bank for financial inclusion,’ ‘Western Europe’s best digital bank,’ ‘Latin America’s best bank for sustainable finance,' ‘Latin America’s best bank for transaction services,’ ‘Mexico’s best investment bank,’ and 'Best bank for corporate responsibility' in Central and Eastern Europe.

It isn’t easy to live in Soacha. Despite being close to Bogota, basic services like running water are not available on a daily basis and the streets of this town, one of the most impoverished in Colombia, are known for their insecurity and lack of infrastructure. But everything is possible with an opportunity and enthusiasm and Jessica Hernandez is the perfect example of this. BBVA’s Group executive chairman wanted to meet the entrepreneur whose story was heard around the world following her speech at the United Nations during a BBVA Microfinance Foundation event.

Rut Pelaiza has spent her entire life as an example: for her parents, for her daughters, and since five years ago, for the thousands of women in the Palabra de Mujer [Woman’s Word] program run by the Peruvian institution of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation. She recalls that she always wanted to be independent and with pride, shares how she managed to achieve this goal when she grew up.

We all remember those teachers who asked us what we want to be when we grow up. A critical moment in a child's life because that is when we begin to build our sense of self and anticipate what we might achieve in the future. A study published by the magazine Science reveals that girls from the age of six are less prone to consider their own sex as “brilliant”. The significant inequality between men and women, gender stereotypes, and the way we educate them cause girls to limit their aspirations, to build walls in their own heads.

The Center for Financial Education and Capability has already secured support from more than 500 experts to conduct its activities. Both the quality and the quantity of experts and collaborators regularly involved in the Center’s activities attest to the success of the initiative, which launched two years ago.

BBVA hosted the forum “Energy Transition Opportunities for the Spanish and European economies.” During the event José Manuel González-Páramo, stressed that "At BBVA we highly appreciate the proposed measures, not only the draft legislation on climate change, but those measures that have been taken by other countries (France, Poland, and Ireland) that give sustainable financing a boost by issuing green bonds."

Not long ago, in Colombia, nearly half the population lived in poverty. In rural areas, the overwhelming majority. Ten years ago, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation made a commitment to change this reality by creating the country’s first microfinance bank, Bancamía, in collaboration with two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – 'Corporación Mundial de la Mujer Colombia' and 'Corporación Mundial de la Mujer Medellín'.

Financial education specialists are gathering in Buenos Aires to celebrate EduFin Summit 2018, a forum that seeks to foster debate on the industry’s biggest challenges. BBVA’s Center for Financial Education and Capability has organized the second edition of this global event, which this year has a special focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Over the course of two days, representatives of the public sector, the corporate world and educational institutions will share data and insights into their success stories in financial inclusion and education.

The best way to close a distance is to eliminate it. This is what is required if distance is what prevents one in every four financially excluded people from opening a bank account. The World Bank indicates that technology may play a key role in making financial inclusion a viable reality for everyone, which is why digital transformation is part of BBVA Microfinance Foundation's DNA. The Foundation aims to reach more people, regardless of how far away they live, and to provide assistance as efficiently and quickly as possible.

Marcos, Marcela, Lucy, Juan, Adelaida, and Luz are not six names just pulled from a hat. They are six Latin American entrepreneurs who are getting ahead using small loans, savings, and microinsurance that protects what they are building. They are six of the 2 million people served by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF).

Last year’s Open Talent global Financial Inclusion award winner, ePesos is connecting more of Mexico’s unbanked population with the financial services they need. BBVA speaks to Alex Martin, Director of Strategic Partnerships, to find out more about how ePesos has continued to contribute to the evolution and transformation of the economy in Mexico.

The BBVA Open Talent team has recognised a number of fintech businesses with a financial inclusion mission. Their business models, and the resulting impact on society, make Open Talent alumni businesses such as Destacame, ePesos, and Musoni ones to watch.

In the future, artificial intelligence will, among many other things, allow to develop helpful customer products for unbanked segments of the population. “Artificial intelligence and financial technologies create opportunities for the democratization of finance,” said Álvaro Martín, Head Economist of Digital Regulation and Trends at BBVA Research, during the meeting of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), held in Brussels. In his opinion, “artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing will boost financial inclusion”.

Close to 40% of the world’s population, some two billion people, do not have access to a bank account. The mobile phone is starting to alleviate the problem and blockchain could be another big driver.