- Business
- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) operates as a multinational financial services group providing retail banking, wholesale banking, corporate and investment banking, asset management, and insurance products and services; core offerings include savings accounts, demand deposits, time deposits, residential mortgages, consumer loans, credit cards, enterprise and public sector loans, payment systems, pension and life insurance, leasing, factoring, brokerage, global markets, corporate finance, transaction banking, project finance, M&A advisory, investment funds, pension plans, discretionary portfolio management, and wealth planning services, delivered primarily through digital channels including mobile banking apps. Founded in 1857 as Banco de Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain, where it maintains its registered headquarters, BBVA conducts operations across more than 25 countries with a strong presence in Spain (its second-largest bank), Mexico (its largest financial institution), Turkey, South America, the United States, continental Europe, and Asia; the group serves individuals, SMEs, self-employed professionals, large corporations, multinational companies, high-net-worth individuals, and institutional investors, emphasizing digital transformation with over 70% of active customers (totaling 77.2 million) engaging via mobile platforms and more than 55 million digital customers. Recent developments include the launch of its 2025-2029 strategic plan under the purpose "Support your drive to go further," prioritizing client-centric hyper-personalization via AI, sustainability as a growth engine with €300 billion in sustainable business mobilized ahead of schedule, scaling enterprise segments including SMEs and corporates through integrated Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) and Business & Enterprise Banking (BEI), value creation via balance sheet optimization and high-margin businesses like insurance and payments, AI and next-gen tech adoption including 3,000 ChatGPT Enterprise licenses, and team empowerment; BBVA reported record 2024 net attributable profit of €10.05 billion (up 25% year-over-year) with RO TE of 20%, proposes a €0.70 per share cash dividend (up 27%) plus €993 million share buyback, advanced its proposed merger with Banco Sabadell for enhanced scale amid European banking consolidation, expanded BBVA Spark venture debt financing with deals like €50 million to Sesame (HR software), €25 million to Exoticca (travel tech), €25 million to roadsurfer (Germany), first growth capital in Finland with Bob W, and €15 million to Plum (UK fintech), strengthened CIB with 28% revenue growth to €3.194 billion in H1 2025 driven by global markets, transaction banking, and investment banking, and pursued digital banking growth including appointing leadership in Italy and core system modernization for Garanti BBVA International.