BBVA is best bank in Latin America and best investment bank in Spain

• BBVA won the awards for “Best Investment Bank” and “Best Debt House” in Spain

• BBVA Provincial (Venezuela) and BBVA Continental (Peru) also won best bank titles in their respective countries

• BBVA’s head of retail banking said the awards reflect the commitment of the bank’s employees in terms of their outstanding service to customers and the quality of the Group’s products and services


Euromoney magazine has singled out BBVA as the best bank in Latin America in its 2013 Euromoney Awards for Excellence, which are some of the most coveted prizes in the financial world. The award recognizes BBVA’s leadership in the region, its strength, solvency and the growth in the number of its customers. This year BBVA was also judged best bank in Venezuela and in Peru. The awards were collected by Ignacio Lacasta, BBVA’s business manager in South America. In wholesale banking BBVA also won awards for best investment bank and best debt house in Spain.

According to Euromoney, BBVA won points for its good financial results in 2012, with an important increase in all margins, and for the increase in lending (up 17.7% in South America and 6.7% in Mexico). The magazine also drew attention to the bank’s extended presence in Latin America where it has at least one subsidiary in nine different countries and to the growth of its retail customer base.
Euromoney pointed to BBVA’s strategy, which entails a closer relationship and greater knowledge of customers via an integrated management and multichannel distribution model with intensive use of technology. This helped to improve the customer experience.

Every year the magazine’s publishers conduct an exhaustive selection around the world of those banks that stand apart from their competitors, using criteria such as excellence, innovation and solvency.
Ignacio Deschamps, BBVA’s head of retail banking, said the awards reflect the commitment of the bank’s employees in terms of their outstanding service to customers and the quality of their products and services.

He highlighted the considerable effort invested by BBVA’s franchises in Mexico and South America to improve processes and channels through technology and innovation. This resulted in better service and greater customer satisfaction.
Euromoney also singled out BBVA Provincial as the best bank in Venezuela for the seventh year running. It pointed to the bank’s investment in technology as a means of boosting the efficiency of its retail banking operations.

Furthermore it also chose BBVA Continental as the best bank in Peru because of its top ranking in efficiency and profitability. Euromoney said the quality of the bank’s loan portfolio is higher than those of its competitors.
The awards were presented in London at a ceremony attended by important figures from the international financial world.

About BBVA
BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, it is the largest financial institution in Mexico and it has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States. Its diversified business is biased to high-growth markets and it relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. BBVA ranks among the leading Euro zone banks in terms of ROE and efficiency. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes.