Home
Annual Report 2014 Global growth The regulatory environment in the financial industry Unique banking model A new environment for the financial industry Transformation journey Business organization chart and structure Responsible Business Plan

Transformation journey

Transformation journey

​In this environment, BBVA is starting from a very advantageous position, because it has an excellent track record in retail banking management and has the following outstanding assets:

  1. A large customer base;
  2. A great deal of information;
  3. A footprint in attractive markets with leading positions;
  4. Significant know-how in risk management;
  5. And an extremely robust corporate governance and regulatory compliance system.

The Group therefore has a very clear idea of how it should approach this new environment: with a transformation from and to the customers that at the same time enables it to transform today's business, create new business models and maintain the unique banking model. 

To guide this transformation journey, BBVA has defined a new Purpose to help us lay the foundations for the Bank's strategy and decision-making. The Purpose is the reason, what determines our conduct and our decisions. Our purpose is to bring the age of opportunity to everyone.

We are embarking on a transformation from and to the customers

By “to bring”, we mean our role in providing access to capital, tools, products and advice. We want to help people manage their money better and be better informed. We are here to offer them that opportunity.

“To everyone” means we serve individuals, families, entrepreneurs, business owners, startups, private and public corporations, as well as BBVA’s employees.

“The age of opportunity” means framing this moment in time not by technology itself, but by the core benefit that technology brings to people and society.

Our new Purpose will serve as a rallying cry to inspire, motivate and galvanize the entire Organization, and it should guide our strategy and decision-making. To this end, six strategic priorities have been defined, which are aligned with the Purpose and lead this transformation.

Our Purpose is to bring the age of opportunity to everyone

1. To provide a new standard in customer experience:

To develop a better end-to-end experience. To really position ourselves with the customers, to advise the best for them, with no conflict of interest, to devote more time to talking to them. In short, to transform the value proposition to help customers understand their financial situation, plan it and make the right decisions. Our customers are not interested in knowing about the processes, policies, etc. They want us to help them solve their problems.

2. To drive digital sales:

To make progress in this transformation it is essential for customers to be digital users. To do so, we have to make the most of the new channels we have available, since a significant part of our customer base is demanding new ways of interacting with the Bank, particularly through mobile devices (for the retail segment) and specialized platforms (in the case of corporates). 

3. To create / associate with / acquire new business models:

New business models are emerging today with innovative value propositions that are driven by paradigms different from those of the traditional banking industry. To adapt to the new environment it is essential to understand and participate in this evolution, which will enable us to choose the best tailored model to each given opportunity by:

  • Creating and developing new models in-house. (Example: Nimble, Open Platform, etc.).
  • Building alliances with new players.
  • Acquiring stakes in startups that enable us to learn from different disruptive models. (Examples: Prosper, a person-to-person lending platform; Taulia; SumUp).
  • In the world of business, FinTech (meaning finance and technology services or companies in the financial sector that use the latest technologies to create innovative products) has entered isolated parts of the value chain and specific products, as well as international payments and currency exchange, trading platforms, trading algorithms, etc. (Examples: Origin, Taulia). BBVA has participated actively in this industry. To this end it has a team based in San Francisco and focused on establishing relations with the most innovative companies, which has also brought on board talent and key skills for the Group through the investments in Simple, Madiva, Spring Studio and Atom Bank, etc. In this way, new sources of income are being created for the Bank through the development of new digital business models, using a diversified approach: 

In-house
development

Strategic
Alliances and
Partnerships

Investment in
Disruptive
Startups
(1)

Digital
M&A

 

New independent businesses

With a 100% digital culture

Leveraged on BBVA’s assets

 

With new technological players

With digital competencies and skills

 

​​

 

(1) Illustrative examples. Ribbit Capital and 500 Startups are venture capital funds.

4. To optimize capital allocation:

This priority is focused on maximizing the return on available capital in a sustainable manner over time. There is increasing emphasis on obtaining a return on capital, which is a resource that since the outbreak of the crisis has become the most expensive and scarce resource in the banking industry, as regulatory demands have increased substantially.

BBVA has a model that has shown great strength and resilience during the crisis and continues to be valid, but the environment demands even more efficiency in resource allocation. This is why it is essential that optimization goes hand in hand with the Group's growth decisions, that investments and business decisions that provide a better return on regulatory capital are prioritized, and that this is reflected in day-to-day management, in budgetary processes, in planning, etc.

5. To adapt the model, the processes and the structures to achieve an unrivaled efficiency:

It is necessary to leverage technology to enable us to simplify processes and develop the distribution model toward one more efficient from the structural point of view, giving us a competitive advantage over our peers.

Being cost-efficient does not mean a detriment of service or quality, it means providing higher-quality solutions, with straight-through processes, etc.; in other words, processes with no interruptions that contribute to achieving greater efficiency, but offering our customers the best user experience.

6. To develop, retain and motivate a first class workforce:

In the same way that we want to offer the best experience for our customers, we also strive to develop the best “employee experience”. This means offering an attractive value proposition to enable the best talent to be identified, attracted and retained, contributing to the development of the professional careers of each employee. In this way we want each interaction by employees with the Bank to be excellent, leading to greater satisfaction for both parties.

It is important to adapt the culture to an environment that requires new ways of working, promoting values such as entrepreneurship, curiosity, collaboration among the teams, the breaking down of silos, empathy, etc. In short, it is about remodeling our culture to develop some of our great values while adding new ones.

If we succeed in achieving all of the aforementioned, it will enable us to:

  1. Have a positive impact on people's lives.
  2. Boost short-term earnings and business profitability.
  3. Successfully compete in the long term in the face of a changing environment. 
     

Goals for the transformation of the value proposition

More customers
+
​More satisfied


​More engaged


More profitable