Digitalization of Banking in Spain

Francisco González: "We are building the best digital bank of the 21st century"

• Digital transformation: “Our goal is to turn BBVA into a totally digital company, including  all our products and services, and with our over 100,000 employees working digitally.”

 The BBVA Chairman & CEO first went over the global and European economic situation, before covering the Spanish economy. “In 2011 and 2012, Spain was on the verge of collapse,” he pointed out. “And, in 2015, we expect it to lead Europe with a growth of 2.7%.” Francisco González also pointed out that more than 400,000 net jobs were created last year.

Nevertheless, he said job quality needed to improve and warned about the high unemployment rate (close to 24%).

Likewise, he highlighted the need to promote innovation, improve education and the Public Administrations, streamline the judicial system and effectively fight against corruption.

“To build on our achievements, we need strong governments. With political stability, 2016 and the following years will be very good for Spain,” he said.

Key developments in 2014

Francisco González recapped the key developments of last year: “Despite the complex environment, 2014 was a good year for BBVA.” The Chairman & CEO of BBVA referred to income growth and the Group’s good cost performance.

Furthermore, he pointed out the improved risk indicators and high solvency levels.

He also underscored that BBVA was one of the strongest institutions among large European banks in the adverse scenario of the stress tests.

As for the shareholder remuneration policy, he asserted that the bank has set a “recurring profit payout target of 35-40%, all in cash. We will carry this out progressively, according to regulatory and market conditions.”

In 2015, BBVA will make four payments, two in cash and two with the Dividend Option scheme, which allows the shareholder to choose between cash or shares.

The Chairman & CEO then focused on the transformation of BBVA to anticipate the impact that the technological revolution will have on the banking industry. “The financial industry has lagged behind, but we see new competitors popping up in many segments of the banking value chain,” he explained.

Eight years ago, BBVA started to build its new technological platform, giving us “a big edge over the vast majority of banks.” The platform now processes 350 million transactions a day, a figure that will reach 1 billion in 2017.

In 2014, BBVA set up the Digital Banking area to accelerate its transformation and make “BBVA a totally digital company, including all its products and services [such as BBVA Wallet or the one-click loans,] and with our over 100,000 employees working digitally.” 

Source: BBVA