The environment of economic crisis prevailing in 2012 has affected the wholesale business activity, which closed the year with a decline in both volumes and number of transactions, particularly in the developed countries. For instance, Spain’s rating downgrades, especially in the second quarter of 2012, had a negative impact on the business, mainly in Europe.
In addition, the large number of regulatory reforms implemented as a reaction to the financial crisis, both in the United States and in Europe, is resulting in a decrease in income due to the tightening of capital requirements, greater operating complexity and various restrictions to wholesale banking activity.
This situation is leading to a structural change in the wholesale business, which is shifting toward a model with greater disintermediation, with more widespread use of digital platforms. Furthermore, a more demanding and meticulous regulatory environment, due to the proliferation of protectionist legislation at the local level, can give rise to a fragmentation of the industry.
Against this background, competitors have reacted by focusing on their core products and markets, reducing costs, restricting lending and cutting back on operations with high capital consumption products.
Unless indicated otherwise, all comments below on percentage changes refer to constant exchange rates, with the aim of providing a better understanding of the performance of BBVA’s wholesale business.