Peio Belausteguigoitia has been in charge of opening the third day of the 41st edition of the APIE Seminar in Santander. The ‘country manager’ of BBVA in Spain has reviewed the current macroeconomic context of Spain, for which the BBVA research service expects a GDP growth of 2.5% this year, well above the expected growth rate for the Eurozone (0.7%). This good performance of the economy is due to the good pace of service exports, particularly the vigorous performance of tourism; to the improvement of productivity and the growth of the active population due to the increase in immigration and the participation rate of women in the labor market.
In this context, Peio Belausteguigoitia has highlighted the excellent performance of BBVA in Spain. In the first quarter of the year, a positive evolution has been observed in practically all lines of the income statement. In terms of activity, while the system continues to deleverage, BBVA manages to grow slightly, which translates into a gain in market share.
On the other hand, the ‘country manager’ has emphasized that BBVA remains in the good path of growth in clients. The bank in Spain has broken the record of clients acquired during several months of 2024. All this after having managed to grow by more than one million clients in 2023, 7% more than in 2022.
Peio Belausteguigoitia has also explained that digital channels They already provide 50% of the new clients that enter the bank. It is achieved thanks to an extremely simple online registration process, either with a ‘selfie’ or with the recently implemented technology, through the cl@ve pin; and also thanks to solutions that allow customers to change banks quickly and easily. All this means that six months after its recruitment, 75% of new clients become loyal.
Likewise, Peio Belausteguigoitia has stated that the growth in individual clients goes hand in hand with the growth in SMEs. SMEs contribute significantly to national GDP (+60%) and regional development, promoting local job creation and economic diversification. The need to support them with financial solutions and adapted services that allow them to grow and overcome economic challenges is vital. “BBVA wants to be the bank for SMEs,” she said, while highlighting that the bank’s intention is to attract 80,000 new SMEs by 2024 in Spain. It should be noted that in the first four months of the year, the bank has attracted 51,000 SMEs and self-employed workers in the country, 10% more than in the same period of 2023.
BBVA’s country manager in Spain has placed emphasis on the good performance of the business in Italy. BBVA landed in Italy in October 2021 and since then has raised its fundraising target year after year, always exceeding its forecasts. The bank estimates that it will reach 600,000 clients this yeara goal that has practically already been achieved in the middle of the year, after attracting 500,000 clients in the country.
Peio Belausteguigoitia explained that, encouraged by the path of success that the bank has recorded in Italy, it is currently working to open a new market in Europe. Specifically, the team is working to launch a pDigital banking proposal in Germany throughout 2025.
He has also pointed out that the experience of Italy, where the bank has reached half a million clients, “encourages us to continue working to provide quality universal digital banking alternatives to more customers in Europe.”
Finally, it has focused on the innovation and efficiency that comes with generative AI, which serves to optimize processes, improving the customer experience by hyper-personalizing it and reinforcing security. The ‘country manager’ has announced that BBVA in Spain plans to develop around 100 GenAI projectsdeveloped by a team of 4,000 data scientists and engineers and with strategic agreements such as the one recently announced with OpenAI to deploy 3,000 ChatGPT Enterprise licenses among employees.
