Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria : “This year, 50% of our clients will be digital”

BBVA Group Executive Chairman Francisco González: '50% of our customer base will be in the digital world.' Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Francisco González gave his views on the current economic and political situation, the finance industry and the digital transformation of the BBVA Group.

Explore more…

In an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE at Davos, BBVA Chairman Francisco González discussed the progress in the Group´s digital transformation. 'This year, we're going to take important steps in our transformation. We are already in the vanguard of the industry. In 2018, 50% of our clients will be digital. And that's a very important milestone, because when a client becomes digital, their satisfaction level multiplies and their relationship with the bank becomes much more intense,' he said.

As for the current economic and political situation, he said that 'from Davos, Spain is seen as a reference.' And it is because, among the major European countries, he pointed out, 'Spain is the country that grew the most in 2017 and the one that will grow the most in 2018, at a rate of 2.5%.' Regarding the secessionist movement in Catalonia, the BBVA Chairman said that it was a road to nowhere, built on unfeasible promises, and everybody is aware of that today. It has had a limited economic impact that may end up being negligible in the medium term. The Rule of Law has prevailed and the State clearly proved that it has the means required to address this situation. It's important to offer certainty.'

Commenting on the latest Labor Force Survey (EPA - Encuesta de Población Activa), Francisco González said that 'the datum for 2017 as a whole is good: Creating 500 thousand jobs and reducing the unemployment rate by 2.0 percentage points (from 18.6 to 16.6%) means that the recovery is reaching more and more people and that the inequality gap is closing.' The BBVA Chairman argued that with a stable environment the economy should be able to keep creating jobs in the coming years, but warned that 'we need to keep working and implementing reforms to reduce unemployment rates and temporality while boosting productivity and salaries.' Also, he said that 'we need to prepare ourselves to make the most of the ongoing digital transformation process.'

Turning to the Spanish and global financial systems, Francisco González said that, 'Current regulation, which is very much focused on liquidity and capital, has strengthened the system. But we are now entering a new scenario; the technological transformation is blurring the lines between countries, sectors and industries.' For that reason, he said, 'it's an incredible opportunity to improve products and services, but it also entails threats to competition, to stability and to privacy.'

He continued, 'we need what I call regulation 2.0, centered on risks and activities, with a global focus, and flexible. Whether it´s in the G20 or the IMF, we need a global debate to deal with the challenges of the digital economy, and there´s no time to lose,' he concluded.