Operational risk capital

Two operational risk economic capital estimates were made in 2009. One used data from the end of 2008 and the other from June 30, 2009. There is little significant difference between the two, and they reveal that the capital figures have stabilized. This is to be expected, as the databases used are increasingly complete, so that the figures for last year have a relatively lower weight.

To make its capital estimates, BBVA uses the OpVision calculation engine, which was developed jointly by Risklab, Indra and BBVA. The methodology used is called Loss Distribution Approach (LDA). It is the most robust allowed by Basel from the statistical point of view.

The capital estimates made in Spain and Mexico use three information sources: the Group’s internal database (SIRO), external data from ORX and simulated events (also called scenarios).

The economic capital results according to the different methodologies used are as follows:

Operational risk capital

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	Basic method	Standard method¹	AMA method²	AMA method³
Spain	1,238	1,124	1,753	829
Mexico	763	662	545	280
Other	839	714	n/a	n/a

¹BBVA currently uses the capital calculated by the standard model as regulatory capital. ²The AMA method does not include the effect of diversification. ³This AMA method includes the effect of diversification.