BBVA - Press Room

• BBVA is using its www.bancaparatodos.com website and blog to unveil a new model of CR communication, based on transparency, simplicity and the involvement of all stakeholders
• The Group has stepped up its commitment to society by channeling 1.88% of its net profit for 2009 into CR, representing an investment of €79.1mn and up on the 1.7% reported for 2008
• The BBVA Microfinance Foundation has expanded its customer base by 44% to top the 500,000 mark
•   In 2009, BBVA launched its Global Financial Education Plan, entailing a €26mn commitment for 2009-2011 and already benefiting 445,000 people
•     The Group’s Global Ecoefficiency Plan has led to annual cost savings of €1.6mn, while curbing CO2 emissions and paper, water and energy consumption

BBVA has today presented its 2009 Corporate Responsibility Report  which underscores the percentage increase in the Group’s social investments to reach €79.1mn. The report is presented along with the new www.bancaparatodos.com website and blog as an illustration of the new CR communication model geared towards transparency, simplicity and the involvement of all the Group’s stakeholders. A groundbreaking model of communication that reflects the CR strategy of the Group, whose ultimate aim is to universalize access to financial services. In 2009, BBVA completed its Strategic Plan in this field by championing the concept of financial education. Among those in attendance at the presentation of the BBVA Corporate Responsibility Report were Gregorio Panadero, Head of Communications and Branding at BBVA, and Antoni Ballabriga, the company’s Head of Corporate Responsibility.

The Group’s CR policy is built around four key pillars: financial education, financial inclusion, responsible banking and commitment to society.

Within the financial inclusion program, we would highlight the work of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (Fundación Microfinanzas BBVA), which is tasked with promoting self-sustainable economic development for the most underprivileged groups of society. Last year alone witnessed a 44% surge in microloan beneficiaries to bring the grand total to 500,000, 65% of whom are women. BBVA has also launched a Global Financial Education Plan for 2009-2011. With a budget of €26mn, the plan is currently being developed throughout all business units.

The two centerpieces of the company’s financial education initiatives are the Adelante con tu futuro (Get Going on Your Future) program, being developed in Mexico to help further banking penetration within the country through personal finance workshops, and the Valores de futuro (Tomorrow’s Stars) program, which is intended to foster financial education for children aged between 6 and 14 studying at Spanish schools and to instill in them the values associated with sound money use. In 2009, Adelante con tu futuro boasted 111,362 beneficiaries, while Valores de futuro drew in 334,333 pupils, 67% up on the figure initially forecast in its first year of implementation.

BBVA has also continued to roll out various schemes relating to responsible banking:

• Responsible finances, with more than 35% of transactions analyzed under the Equator Principles
• Responsible investment, which has been used to manage 2.92% of funds (vs. 2.70% in 2008)
• Human Resources, with employees contributing €2mn to social initiatives and a 44% increase in the number of volunteer workers to bring the total to 5,193.
• Environment, with hard results stemming from the Global Ecoefficiency Plan, leading to annual cost savings of €1.6mn, an impressive 3.22% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 3.69% decline in paper consumption.

BBVA’s has upped its commitment to society from 1.70% of net profit in 2008 to 1.88% in 2009, achieved primarily through its benchmark Niños adelante (Children First) program, which to date has awarded scholarships to 56,178 children in Latin America, the various programs of the BBVA Foundation, Ruta Quetzal BBVA and the raft of social initiatives being spearheaded by the company.

Along the same lines, the Group also unveiled its Colabora con Haití (Help Haiti) program in 2010, which helped to raise €8mn for the stricken country. One million The company itself donated a total of €1mn divided among the Red Cross (€750,000) and Médecins Sans Frontières (€250,000) to help reconstruct the country’s infrastructures and reorganize the lives of the Haitian people. In the years to come, a large proportion of the funds raised will be earmarked for reconstructing schools there. BBVA has also been helping to reconstruct children’s homes in Chile in the wake of the recent earthquake.

“Banking for All”

At BBVA, CR means working to universalize access to financial services - making banking for all a reality. (see videos)

This commitment has required us to assimilate a new model of communication. The Corporate Responsibility Report forms an integral part of this new model, which manifests itself primarily in the new www.bancaparatodos.com website and blog. A tool based on transparency, simplicity and the involvement of all the company’s stakeholders, and which aims to provide a fluid system of communication and dialogue centering on innovation and interactivity.

BBVA’s CR report is only available on-line, reflecting the Group’s policy of environmental protection. The report’s new browsable format affords readers a much more dynamic and interactive environment than with traditional reports.