BBVA has been consolidating its presence across Europe by replicating profitable, scalable, low-capital-intensity digital banking models in attractive markets like Italy and Germany. “I’ve just returned from Italy, where we have celebrated our fourth anniversary there,” said Genç. In that country, the bank already serves more than 800,000 customers, has doubled its initial targets, and is two years ahead of schedule. BBVA’s goal is to surpass one million customers in Italy before the end of 2026 and to become their primary bank.
In Germany, where BBVA has only recently started operating, the reaction has been even more encouraging, once again demonstrating the appeal of the model: “The bank is going much better than what we thought it would do,” he noted. Unlike ‘neobanks,’ BBVA provides a full suite of products—accounts, deposits, loans, mortgages, insurance, and investments—combining the trust and strength of a European bank with an unrivalled digital experience.
BBVA, focused on its Strategic Plan and on profitable organic growth
The CEO reiterated that BBVA is pressing ahead firmly with its 2025–2029 Strategic Plan, which focuses on profitable organic growth. The Group benefits from three key structural advantages that underpin its ability to grow: “Strong geographic diversification, dominant positions across all our franchises in markets with low leverage, and a well-established digital edge, where we have invested much more—and much earlier—than others […] By combining them all, we have been gaining market share.” For example, in Spain, BBVA has been adding 50 basis points of market share every year in the commercial segment over the past five years.
Genç also cited the Group’s client growth: in 2024, BBVA attracted 11 million new customers, two-thirds of them through pure digital acquisition.
Europe needs banks with scale, investment capacity and efficient regulation
Genç also addressed the structural challenges currently facing Europe’s financial system. In his view, Europe needs to grow, and achieving that will require heavy investment. Banks have a central role to play, as roughly 80 percent of corporate borrowing in Europe comes from bank lending (compared with just 25 percent in the United States). The CEO recalled that only one European bank ranks among the world’s 20 largest by market capitalization. Therefore, it is essential for European banks to expand and achieve scale. If that scale cannot be reached through M&A within the sector, it will occur “through market mechanisms […] it’s going to take time, but it’s going to happen.”
As for BBVA, Onur Genç expressed his confidence that the bank has built a sturdy foundation for continued expansion and is already number one in profitability and growth among Europe’s fifteen largest banks.