BBVA Argentina is a subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., its main shareholder since 1996. In Argentina, it is one of the leading private financial institutions since 1886. Nationwide, BBVA Argentina offers retail and corporate banking to a broad customer base, including individuals, SMEs, and large companies.
BBVA Argentina’s corporate purpose is to bring the age of opportunities to everyone, executing on our strategic priorities to capture the opportunities of the new era and achieve our goals. BBVA’s strategy is based on three pillars: (1) differentiation, by improving our clients’ financial health, and helping them transition towards a sustainable future; (2) superior performance, by having operational excellence and reaching more clients; and (3) being an accelerator, which includes the best and most engaged teams and Data and Technology. The institution relies on solid values: “The customer comes first”; “We think big”; and “We are one team”.
The Bank was one of the first companies to be listed on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (now ByMA), quoting since 1888 (ticker: BBAR). It also has been listed on Mercado Abierto Electrónico (MAE) since 2018. Its shares in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since 1993 (ticker: BBAR) and on the Madrid-based Mercado de Valores Latinoamericanos (LATIBEX) since December 1999 (ticker: XBBAR).
As of June 7, 2019, the BBVA Group adopted a globally standardized trademark, “BBVA”, in addition to a new company logo in line with the digital world. This new identity reflects the BBVA Group’s values, especially “We are one team”, which emphasizes the importance of the people who work within the BBVA Group and their commitment to the BBVA project. In Argentina, the former BBVA Francés is now BBVA Argentina. The legal name has been changed to Banco BBVA Argentina S.A., which was approved by the BCRA on July 25, 2019. Following this new brand identity, the Bank’s symbol on NYSE, MAE and BYMA exchanges were changed to BBAR, and on LATIBEX it was changed to XBBAR.
BBVA Argentina has participation in diverse subsidiary and associate companies which enable the expansion of the Bank’s presence in the market, an efficient client acquisition and improvement of the company’s value proposition. For more information on these companies, go to the Subsidiaries section.
BBVA Argentina is the third largest privately-owned bank, and fourth largest bank, in Argentina in terms of private loans (as of December 2024), as per Central Bank last quarterly available information). As of December 31, 2024, BBVA Argentina had 11.3% of total banking system private loans, and 10.5% on a non-consolidated basis compared to 9.9% and 9.1%, respectively, as of December 31, 2023. Market share as of December 31, 2024 for retail loans (including consumer, mortgage, credit card and secured loans) was 9.9% compared to 9.9% as of December 31, 2023. Market share for commercial loans (including discounted instruments, overdrafts, financial leases, financing and prefinancing of exports and other loans) as of December 31, 2024 was 12.1% compared to 9.9% as of December 31, 2023. BBVA Argentina’s loan portfolio mix changed from 49.3% and 50.7%of retail loans and commercial loans, respectively, as of December 31, 2023 to 43.5% and 56.5% of retail loans and commercial loans, respectively, as of December 31, 2024, as a result of BBVA Argentina’s strategy of increasing its participation in commercial lending, in particular, in the SMEs segment.
Through its universal banking platform, the Bank provides a broad range of financialand non-financialservices both to individuals and companies throughout Argentina,across allsegments of the population, including retailand commercial banking, insurance,asset management, securities brokerage,and investment banking products and services. BBVA Argentina believes the wide range of financialsolutions offered to its customers, complemented by unique strategic alliances and partners,as wellas the capacity to leverage the BBVA Group’s globalexpertise, relationships and technological platform, gives it a significant competitive edge compared to other Argentine companies in the financialsector. Such competitive advantages place it in a privileged position to capture opportunities and capitalize on the potentialconsolidation ofa fragmented banking sector.
The Bank manages the following entity-wide business lines:
- Retail banking
- Small and medium-sized companies
- Corporate and investment banking (CID)
Retail banking, through which it offers financial services to individuals across all income segments. BBVA Argentina’s main retail banking products include checking and savings accounts, time deposits, credit card financing, consumer and secured loans, mortgages, insurance and investment products. While BBVA Argentina has a strong presence within the middle-income and affluent segments of the population, its products and distribution channels are designed to attract clients across all client segments. As of December 31, 2024, there were approximately 3.5 million active (defined as the subgroup of total clients that are account holders with an average business volume of more than $0 in the three immediately prior months (non-duplicative for joint-account holders) and excluding Stage 3 clients that are in arrears. The concept of “active client” has been revised during 2024 due to the transition to a new data source.) retail banking clients, compared to 3.4 million active retail banking clients as of December 31, 2023. BBVA Argentina’s market share for consumer and mortgage loans as of December 31, 2024, was 7.8% and 2.2%, respectively. In terms of secured loans, BBVA Argentina’s market share was 5.7% as of December 31, 2024. In terms of credit card financing, BBVA Argentina’s market share was 12.8% (including Visa and Mastercard active cards) as of December 31, 2024.
Small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), through which BBVA Argentina offers financial services primarily to local private-sector companies. BBVA Argentina’s main SME products include financing products, factoring, checking accounts, time deposits, transactional and payroll services, insurance and investment products. As of December 31, 2024, BBVA Argentina had more than 179 thousand SME clients, including entrepreneurs, compared to 143 thousand as of December 31, 2023. SMEs are a key element for economic growth in Argentina, and BBVA Argentina is focused on expanding the number of clients it serves and on being a strategic ally to its SME clients, supporting them with tailored products and transactional solutions, as well as with differentiated customer support through its 235 branches.
Corporate and investment banking (CIB), through which BBVA Argentina offers financial services to some of the largest Argentine corporations and multinational companies operating in Argentina. Corporate banking is divided by industry sector: consumers, heavy industries, and energy, providing customized services to large companies. In addition to the products offered to SMEs, corporate and investment banking clients are provided with global transaction services, global markets solutions such as risk management and securities brokerage, long-term financing products including project finance and syndicated loans, and corporate finance services including mergers and acquisitions and capital markets advisory services. As of December 31, 2024, BBVA Argentina had more than 800 corporate banking clients (including mutual funds), which included substantially all of the largest corporates and multinational companies in Argentina. Within the CIB business line, BBVA Argentina is focused on leveraging the deep expertise of its industry-focused relationship executives, supported by the BBVA Group’s global network, to continue to provide bespoke global financial solutions to its corporate client base. BBVA Argentina is focused on being a trusted partner for its corporate clients as they seek to finance investment opportunities, particularly within certain sectors of the economy where investment has lagged, such as telecommunications, energy and infrastructure.
BBVA Argentina offers its products and services through a wide multiple-channel distribution network with presence in all the Argentine provinces and in the City of Buenos Aires, servicing 3.7 million active clients as of December 31, 2024.
Clients
Employess** 6,289
Branches
**Total active employees at the end of the period, includes effective and temporary employees. Excludes expatriates. December 2024.
BBVA Argentina provides an electronic banking service, a modern, secure and functional internet banking platform (bbva.com.ar) and mobile banking apps such as the BBVA App. Within the digital payments offering, BBVA Argentina has also implemented NFC technology for its clients’ use.
At the end of 2020, BBVA Argentina together with other Argentine banks, launched MODO (Play Digital S.A.) (“MODO”), a payment solutions app that is part of our digital offering and enables wire transfers and cashless payments through mobile phones allowing users to access their banks’ available promotions. As of December 31, 2024, BBVA Argentina held a [6.5]% market share of active users (active users of MODO that have made a transaction, payment or transfer, in the previous 30 days), according to data provided by MODO. In 2024, wire transfers (in units) grew 149% for BBVA, above MODO’s System wire transfer growth. Payment volumes increased 318% for BBVA Argentina. The BBVA App also has a MODO landing section where QR payments can be made, along with wire transfers from and to the digital wallet.
In 2022, we started offering Openpay (Openpay Argentina S.A.), a service that allows merchants to collect sales from debit and credit cards, and offer payments in installments. Through Openpay, merchants can execute in-person transactions through a card reader which is connected to a mobile phone, or carry out remote sales through a payment link. During 2024, transactions in units increased 52%, total processing value by 287% and active clients (active clients that have made a transaction in the previous 90 days) increased by 31% as of December 31, 2024 compared to December 31, 2023.
In September 2023, we launched Spark, a business unit focused on offering financial services to tech start-ups and entrepreneurs. Spark had been previously launched in Mexico and Spain, and as of December 31, 2024 served more than 700 clients globally, with a credit portfolio of over 200 million euros. In Argentina, Spark had 215 clients as of December 31, 2024 compared to 111 clients as of December 31, 2023.
The BBVA App has been implemented in selected countries within the BBVA Group (Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, Spain and Colombia) with successful results. The BBVA App is developed collaboratively among the countries in which it has been implemented providing the BBVA Group with global synergies in the development of new features and the response to market. Since December 2024, the Azul virtual assistant, available on the online banking platform, is also available in the BBVA App. These features aim to improve user experience, increase BBVA Argentina’s net promoting score, improve accessibility, increase security and efficiency and reduce system response time.
As of December 31, 2024, the average rating for the BBVA App both in Apple Store and Google Play Store in Argentina was 4.7 (compared to 4.8 as of December 31, 2023). Within banking apps ratings, the BBVA App remained the highest ranked in Google Play Store and the second in Apple Store in Argentina. Users of the BBVA App increased 7% compared to December 31, 2023.
BBVA Argentina has also gradually transformed part of its branches into “digital branches”: a combination between human capital and structure facilities to promote client self-service, aiming to digitalize and migrate clients to remote channels. Strategic pillars of these branches include: the mixed roles of customer service staff oriented to guide the client, the availability of digital tools, the limitation of teller service for specific transactions, and the availability of a customer service protocol where the importance of each role and client dynamics are detailed. As of December 31, 2024, BBVA Argentina had 19 “fully-digital” branches (branches where teller services are not available).
In 2024, accumulated retail digital sales measured in units reached 91.0% of total sales (compared to 93.0% in 2023) and represented 73.5% of BBVA Argentina’s total sales measured in monetary value (compared to 71.5% in 2023). Digital and mobile transactions (including online and mobile banking, net cash online and mobile, and non-banking correspondents including MODO) increased 43.0% in 2024 compared to 2023.
Our distribution network is complemented by strategic partnerships. Some of these include Fravega SACEI, a leader in the Argentine household appliances sector, and Falabella S.A., through its brand SODIMAC, a leader in home improvement stores. Within the entertainment industry, we have strategic partnerships with Cinemark Argentina S.R.L., Hoyts General Cinema de Arg S.A, MOVE Concerts Argentina S.A., Medios y Contenidos Producciones S.A, and En Vivo Producciones S.A. Additionally, we have alliances with Club Atlético River Plate Asociación Civil and Club Atlético Boca Juniors Asociación Civil, Argentine soccer clubs. These strategic partnerships allow us to increase our customers’ loyalty by offering them discounts and promotions.
In addition, BBVA Argentina has a loyalty program together with Despegar.com.ar S.A., a leader in the Latin America online travel sector. BBVA Argentina offers a one-stop marketplace that enables customers to easily and quickly find, compare, plan, purchase and finance travel services in exchange of their “BBVA miles”.
All of these relationships have allowed BBVA Argentina to increase its client reach cost-effectively, and further expand its business and points of presence while enhancing its value proposition.
(Market share figures based on daily information from the Argentine Central Bank, capital balances as of the last day of each period. As of December 2024).
*Active clients: holders of at least one active product. Subgroup of total clients that meet the conditions of being an account holder with an average business volume above $0 in the last 3 months. Does not include joint-account holders. Stage 3 arrear clients are excluded. CIB includes mutual fund clients. SMEs includes self-employed. The concept of “active customers” has been revised due to the transition to a new data source. SMEs includes entrepreneurs.