Strategy: BBVA’s transformation

The current macroeconomic environment is marked by geopolitical tensions, a normalisation of interest rates and an increasing ageing of the population, which will generate challenges and opportunities in the financial sector. In addition, the rest of the long-term global trends on which BBVA’s strategy is based and which play a critical role in the transformation of the economy have continued to consolidate and evolve. The financial system is navigating an increasingly complex competitive landscape, with the rise of new digital competitors, such as neobanks, and non-bank players disrupting traditional models.

Digitization has continued to solidify across most sectors, ushering in a new era of disruption driven by artificial intelligence (AI). AI is redefining competitive dynamics across numerous industries, including the financial sector, and its impact on the entire value chain is creating significant opportunities:

• Hyper-personalization of value propositions.
• Process automation, expected to have a profound effect on middle and back-office tasks, improving data control, productivity, and customer experience.
• The continued advancement of technologies such as blockchain, quantum computing, and cloud processing, which are opening up a transformative era of opportunities for society and the financial industry.

Sustainability will remain a key driver of economic growth:

• Investments in the transition to a decarbonized economy are gaining momentum, fueled by increasing energy demand and the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy sources. Additionally, profitability in emerging technologies is rising, thanks to ongoing innovation. It is currently estimated that approximately half of the emissions reductions required will come from technologies that are still in their early stages and unproven on a large scale.
• Banks will play a crucial role in this transition by channeling investments and providing guidance to their clients as they move toward a decarbonized and more energy-efficient economy in the context of growing energy demand.
• Moreover, investments aimed at enhancing production processes and improving the value chains of companies that contribute to preserving natural capital are also on the rise. Reversing the depletion of natural capital is essential due to the significant economic and financial impacts it entails.

BBVA’s purpose is “Support your drive to go further”

We aim to help our customers to achieve their life goals. More than a bank, we want to be an engine of opportunities, and to have a true impact on people’s lives and businesses.

BBVA has defined six strategic priorities, which are aligned with its purpose: ‘To bring the age of opportunities to everyone‘.

BBVA is engaged in an open process to identify the Group’s Values, which took on board the opinion of employees from across the global footprint and units of the Group. These Values define our identity and are the pillars for making our Purpose a reality:

Customer comes first

BBVA has always been customer-focused, but the customer now comes first before everything else. The Bank aspires to take a holistic customer vision, not just financial. This means working in a way which is empathetic, agile and with integrity, among other things.

• We are empathetic: we take the customer’s viewpoint into account from the outset, putting ourselves in their shoes to better understand their needs.
• We have integrity: everything we do is legal, publishable and morally acceptable to society. We always put customer interests’ first.
• We meet their needs: We are swift, agile and responsive in resolving the problems and needs of our customers, overcoming any difficulties we encounter.

We think big

It is not about innovating for its own sake but instead to have a significant impact on the lives of people, enhancing their opportunities. BBVA Group is ambitious, constantly seeking to improve, not settling for doing things reasonably well, but instead seeking excellence as standard.

• We are ambitious: we set ourselves ambitious and aspirational challenges to have a real impact on people’s lives.
• We break the mold: we question everything we do to discover new ways of doing things, innovating and testing new ideas which enables us to learn.
• We amaze our customers: we seek excellence in everything we do in order to amaze our customers, creating unique experiences and solutions which exceed their expectations.

We are one team

People are what matters most to the Group. All employees are owners and share responsibility in this endeavor. We tear down silos and trust in others as we do ourselves. We are BBVA.

• I am committed: I am committed to my role and my objectives and I feel empowered and fully responsible for delivering them, working with passion and enthusiasm.
• I trust others: I trust others from the outset and work generously, collaborating and breaking down silos between areas and hierarchical barriers.
• I am BBVA: I feel ownership of BBVA. The Bank’s objectives are my own and I do everything in my power to achieve them and make our Purpose a reality.