The CEO of BBVA, Onur Genç, has emphasized that the bank operates in accordance with the current regulatory framework regarding the investigation opened by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC). However, he has avoided commenting on the substance of the procedure as it is still in the processing phase.
During the press conference following the presentation of the results for the first half of the year, the executive insisted that the bank based in Bilbao is "firmly committed to compliance with the regulations."
"This is an ongoing investigation, so we cannot comment too much on the details. It is a procedure that remains open, but what I can say is that we are firmly committed to compliance with the regulations and we believe that we develop our communications and the rest of our activities in accordance with the applicable regulatory framework," the banker emphasized in defense of the financial entity.
In mid-June, the supervisor opened a sanctioning file against Banco Santander, CaixaBank, BBVA, Sabadell, Bankinter, and Unicaja for possible conduct contrary to competition, as contemplated in Article 1 of the Competition Defense Law and in Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (S/0009/26).
According to the CNMC, the focus of the investigation is on public statements made by some executives of these entities regarding the future commercial policy of the banks, especially concerning fixed-rate mortgage interest rates.
The agency pointed out in a note that this type of statement could have facilitated the entities anticipating the future behavior of their rivals.
The institution has set a maximum period of 24 months to instruct and resolve the file, although it has specified that the opening of the procedure "does not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation."
Genç has also taken the opportunity to highlight the level of competition in the mortgage market in Spain, understanding that the figures show that customers benefit from some of the cheapest mortgages in the European Union.
"The data is what it is. We have one of the lowest mortgage rates in all of the European Union. I believe that only Bulgaria and Malta have a lower cost, so we rank third among all countries," he emphasized. In addition, he indicated that Spain records "by far" the lowest cost for consumers among the major economies of the 'Old Continent'.
The words of the number two of BBVA in support of the sector add to those of the CEO of Bankinter, Gloria Ortiz, who last week, in addition to defending the innocence of the orange bank, appeared "calm" and claimed "to have complied with the law at all times".