The CEO of BBVA, Onur Genç, highlighted this Tuesday in London, during his speech at the CEOs conference organized by Bank of America, that the Basque bank is "adopting artificial intelligence (AI) better than its competitors."
The executive emphasized that, just as the entity was a benchmark in the digitalization phase, it is now applying a similar strategy with AI, supported by early adoption, rapid scalability, and a comprehensive transformation around this technology, which, in his opinion, will provoke the next great revolution in the financial sector.
Genç has indicated that BBVA is moving towards a "hyper-personalized and conversational" model, in which 'Blue' —the personal assistant for clients— evolves into a financial assistant capable of understanding and anticipating users' needs with greater precision.
Likewise, he stressed that the potential of this technology goes "far beyond cost efficiencies," as it offers a wide margin for improvement on the revenue side thanks to "greater personalization, better advice, and increased commercial productivity."
On another note, the CEO has highlighted the profitable growth and discipline in the bank's capital allocation. He recalled that, between December 2020 and June 2026, BBVA's loan portfolio has increased by 62% in current euros, compared to the 13% average of its group of comparable European banks.
At the same time, Genç pointed out that in the last five years the group has widened the profitability gap compared to its competitors. In the first half of 2026, the entity achieved a ROTE —return on tangible equity— of 22.2%, clearly above the 15% average of comparable European banking.
The banker has identified the low level of leverage in the countries where the bank operates, the relevant scale in each of those markets, a strong commitment to innovation, and a strict capital policy as levers of this sustainable growth.
As he explained, this evolution has driven capital generation, which has allowed the dividend distributed to triple, from 31 cents of euro based on the results of 2021 to 92 cents in 2025.
"As long as growth is profitable, there is no dilemma: growing allows for generating more capital, distributing it among shareholders, and continuing to invest to drive new growth, thus creating a virtuous circle," affirmed the number two of the entity.
Mexico gains weight in BBVA's strategy
Regarding performance by geographies, Genç has pointed out that in Mexico both the macroeconomic outlook and that of the financial system are "positive," with stable GDP growth and low indebtedness of the economy.
On the competition with neobanks in the country, he defended that BBVA is "very well positioned" to compete and capture opportunities in all market segments. "We have the best technological capabilities in Mexico and the best customer satisfaction data in the banking sector. We are adding more customers than any digital bank in the country," he emphasized.
At the national level, the CEO of BBVA anticipates that the economy will continue to grow "well above" the eurozone, supported mainly by immigration, the dynamism of the services sector, and the increase in investment. This context, combined with several years of deleveraging in the private sector, supports an increase in credit that he qualifies as sustainable and healthy.
Turkey moderates short-term expectations
In Turkey, the group's third market with 532 million profit in the first half of 2026, the short-term outlook has become complicated due to inflationary pressures greater than expected, intensified by the rising cost of energy. This situation, as Genç explained, has forced the interruption of the monetary easing cycle, a change that impacts BBVA's business, which shows positive sensitivity to lower interest rates.
In this scenario, the entity adopts a downward bias on its target of 1 billion euros in net profit in Turkey for 2026. Despite this adjustment in the short term, Onur Genç has reiterated that BBVA's strategic vision for the country does not change and trusts that the Turkish subsidiary will increase its contribution to the group as inflation decreases in the coming years. "We have the best bank in the country," concluded the CEO of BBVA.