Against the background of restructuring, BBVA’s strategy in Spain remains focused on strengthening the franchise through growing the customer base and gaining market share. In order to achieve these targets, the retail banking business remains committed to savings and lending products as the main drivers for increasing customer fund gathering and bundling.
On the assets side, one of the quarter’s highlights was the launch of “Préstamo Inmediato” (“Immediate Loan”), a pre-approved loan that can be contracted through any channel, for a customized amount and price based on a behavioral analysis of each customer.
In insurance, BBVA continues to redefine certain products in order to tailor them to customer needs, and to make them more simple and competitive. BBVA has launched “Seguro de Vivienda BBVA” (“BBVA Home Insurance”), a modular, flexible and competitive product that enables customers to contract what they really need, depending on the features of their home.
BBVA continues to play an active role in developing products and services for the Premium segment. In order to improve customer experience in this area, relationships with the bank agent by scheduled appointments are being encouraged, which enables the bank to save a significant amount of time, and to offer greater dedication and better advice.
Progress has also continued to be made in the multi-channel strategy, with a firm commitment to innovation and digital channels, in order to bring the financial products and services to customers no matter where they may be:
- The “BBVA Contigo” remote management model has been consolidated. According to 2013 year-end figures, over half a million customers are using this service.
- In digital channels, a new website has been launched for the youth segment: bluebbva.com.
- Mobility is another priority in multi-channel distribution. Also worth noting is the launch of “BBVA Wallet”, which enables customers to perform transactions with their cards using their cell phones and make payments through contactless technology. Since its launch and in just two weeks, the app has been downloaded 20,000 times, and this is on top of the 2 million active users in digital channels.
The CBB unit has been very focused on retaining and gathering deposits, as a way of consolidating and increasing customer loyalty. BBVA has also set itself the target of meeting solvent demand for credit in a proactive way. This goal has been achieved through the “Plan +Negocio” (“+Business Plan”), based on increased management, proximity and analysis of projects of customers and non-customers with proven solvency. In addition, BBVA has confirmed its leading role in distributing ICO (Official Credit Institute) credit facilities, which are a way of measuring lending activity in this unit. Using cumulative data through 31-Dec-2013, the Bank had arranged 24,257 transactions for €1,743m, 21% higher than the amount contracted as of the same date in 2012.
The following prizes and awards are worth mentioning in the quarter:
- In November, BBVA was awarded with the “Impulso al Autónomo” (“Promoting Self-Employed Workers”) prize, organized by the Federación Nacional de Trabajadores Autónomos (National Federation of Self-Employed Workers, ATA) and the Joly group, for the “Yo Soy Empleo” (“I am employment”) program. This award underlines the Bank’s commitment to helping create jobs for self-employed workers and SMEs.
- For the fourth year in a row, BBVA Banca Privada has been chosen as the “Best Private Bank in Spain” in the 2013 “The Global Private Banking Awards”, granted every year by The Banker, the prestigious Financial Times Group journal specializing in international banking. This award is a further recognition of BBVA’s business model, based on customized advice and a comprehensive management service that combines trust and transparency.
- Lastly, BBVA has been chosen as “Mejor Banco en Redes Sociales en España” (“Best Bank in Social Networks in Spain”) in 2013. According to Alianzo, the on-line analysis company, the keys to BBVA’s success are the interesting and useful contents posted for its stakeholders, highlighting the dissemination of advice on how to better manage home economics and the promotion of sports sponsorships and of the BBVA brand.