Category: 3. Business

These latest awards by Global Finance come hot on the heels of BBVA’s new 2025–2029 strategic cycle, in which the corporate and business segment is a priority. BBVA positions itself as a strategic partner for companies of all sizes, combining expert advisory services, advanced technology, and a global outlook.

The jury held a particularly positive view of the bank’s efforts to grow its SME business. In 2024, BBVA achieved 40% growth in revenues from this key segment compared with 2023 to reach €3 billion. This performance, combined with the Group’s presence in more than 25 countries, enables the bank to offer companies real opportunities to scale across borders thanks to its global network and extensive sector expertise.

The awards also reflect BBVA’s leadership in sustainability. The bank has provided training to SME suppliers across 13 countries, helping them transition toward more efficient and responsible business models. The bank’s SME specialists play a key role in this regard, helping businesses anticipate future needs, from franchising and foreign trade to structured finance and risk management.

Digitalization and advanced solutions for SMEs

Global Finance cited the bank’s digital transformation, especially in SME financing. In 2024, BBVA tripled the number of preapproved credits, which now account for 50% of all completed transactions, and generated 3.5 times more new credit originated through digital channels, driven by more agile processes and enhanced risk management.

“We want working with BBVA to be easy. That’s why we are radically transforming how we engage with SMEs through simple, scalable digital solutions. This transformation is supported by the integration of technological capabilities, expert advisory services, and an on-the-ground presence in each region, with solutions designed specifically to cater to the needs of each company,” remarked José Luis Serrano, head of SMEs for BBVA Spain.

The jury also pointed to the bank’s fully digital solution that integrates financial services with point-of-sale (PoS) terminals. In Spain, around 40% of business clients already use BBVA’s Android-based terminal, a device that operates much like a smartphone, enabling businesses to process returns, access transaction histories, and install apps to optimize the way they run the business.

These innovations help simplify day-to-day operations, improve efficiency, and support the growth of thousands of small businesses in Spain and throughout Western Europe.

BBVA, the strategic partner of choice for businesses

The model is built around three pillars: a client-centric approach, responsible and sustainable growth, and providing clients with full access to the bank’s products and services. Relying on its end-to-end range of products and services and highly specialized structure, BBVA supports companies in everything from daily operations to strategic decision-making, with solutions tailored to their needs that fuse technology, sector knowledge, and sustainability.

Furthermore, the bank is driving a more digital, agile, and personalized experience through automated processes, self-service solutions, and the integration of financial services into the digital ecosystems of its clients or third parties.

A leading source for economic and financial information

Founded in 1987, Global Finance is a magazine specializing in financial markets and investment banking. It is an international reference point for corporate leaders, bankers, and investors alike. Its annual awards have become a benchmark of excellence, combining expert analysis, quantitative metrics, and independent assessment of submissions.

Each year, the magazine selects the best financial institutions worldwide based on a qualitative review conducted by experts and analysis of indicators such as market share, number and volume of transactions, and innovation.

The editors of Global Finance, together with industry analysts, corporate executives, and experts in technology, choose the winners of these awards. They evaluate entries from the banks themselves along with independent research to assess a broad set of criteria.

In the Transylvanian village of Pianu de Jos, 51-year-old Dana Chitucescu gathers a sack of empty polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, aluminium cans and glass every week and walks it to her local shop.

Like millions of Romanians across cities and rural areas, Chitucescu has woven the country’s two-year-old deposit return system (DRS) into her routine.

It’s a simple scheme: when you buy soft drinks or alcoholic beverages, you pay an extra 0.50 RON (£0.09) per bottle and get the money back when you return the packaging, cleaned and in its original shape, to a collection point ( usually the same shops where the goods were purchased).

Chitucescu makes about 40 RON per week from recycling her and another family’s bottles. “That covers the food for my seven cats,” she said. “It’s a great system, everyone in our village uses it, there’s always a queue at the shop.”

Her weekly walk is one tiny part of a national shift that, until recently, seemed impossible. Romania’s recycling rates were among the lowest in the EU, but in the two years since the scheme launched, beverage-packaging collection and recycling has skyrocketed to 94%.

“It is a zero to hero story,” said Gemma Webb, CEO of RetuRO, the company running the system in a public-private partnership with beverage packaging manufacturers and the state. “The products are clean, there is little contamination, they can be recycled easily and we have full traceability as well, so we know every bottle that goes on the market.”

Romanians returned about 7.5bn beverage containers between the system’s launch in November 2023 and the end of September 2025, according to the company. The returns included 4bn PET bottles, 2bn metal cans, and 1.5bn glass containers. More than 500,000 tonnes of high-quality recyclable materials have been collected. “We are the largest fully integrated deposit return system globally.”

The scale of Romania’s turnaround is even more striking given where the country started. For more than a decade, the country has sat at the bottom of Europe’s recycling statistics. Between 2011 and 2021, the country’s municipal waste recycling rate barely budged, drifting between 11% and 14% while the rest of the EU climbed ahead.

Romania ranked last in the EU for circular material usage, with only 1% of materials being recycled and reintroduced into the economy in 2021.

But in 2018 the government began discussions about the scheme; in 2022 RetuRO began work, and on an extremely tight timeline including the construction of nine counting and sorting centres nationwide, the scheme launched in late 2023.

“Now we have one of the largest, most complex logistics networks in Romania,” said Webb.

In fact starting later than other countries may have been an advantage, says Raul Pop, secretary of state in the environment ministry and a waste policy expert, because Romania could use modern software and traceability tools.

It’s on a return-to-retail model: shops that sell the containers must either install reverse vending machines or process the packaging manually. There’s also a financial incentive for them, which helps them cover processing costs, and RetuRO reinvests all profits back into operations.

A nationwide advertising campaign used the Romanian traditional dance, the hora, people holding hands and dancing in a circle, to symbolise shared responsibility, and a recent

study found that 90% of Romanians say they have used the system at least once and 60% return packaging regularly.

Other countries, Pop explained, “suffer from their own inertia” because they introduced their systems decades ago and are now stuck with outdated models. For them, shifting to new systems risks confusing consumers, even if it could improve collection rates.

Countries such as Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Serbia have had meetings with RetuRO and the Romanian authorities looking to learn best practices as they prepare to implement a similar system.

Romania has also introduced a supportive legal framework, which means retailers can be penalised if they refuse returns – even the smallest village shops must accept containers if they sell the products or they risk fines, while big chains have automised return points.

After its success with beverage containers, the system is planning to expand to cover other types of packaging. “If you can put a bottle of water, you can also put a bottle of vinegar, a jar or a milk carton,” said Alexandra Țuțuianu of Ecoteca, Romania’s first waste-management NGO.

But when it comes to other types of packaging such as crisps packets, which contain flexible plastic, or shampoo bottles, both RetuRO and the government say they don’t want to rush.

Webb said the programme was still too young for major additions. “We are still new and it is still premature to add more into the system,” she said, adding that any addition would require the same level of research that went into beverage containers and collaboration with industry partners who produce the materials.

Environmental groups have praised Romania’s system, but warn that it covers only a small slice of the country’s overall waste stream. “It’s the largest environmental programme, an example of good practice, we praise it, we like the system a lot, but it is not enough, it does not solve the waste problem in Romania,” said Țuțuianu.

Beverage packaging accounts for just 5% of all waste generated in Romania. The country recorded a total recycling rate of only 12% in 2024, according to Eurostat, and has never exceeded 14%. Even with a hypothetical 100% return rate for beverage containers, the overall waste recycling rate would only rise marginally.

Re-use, Elena Rastei of the NGO Zero Waste Romania argued, needs to be looked at more closely.

“Collection solves the problem of visible waste, but re-use changes its nature. When packaging circulates – returned, washed, refilled – it becomes a resource, not waste. A single, reusable bottle can replace 20 to 50 single-use bottles, cut carbon emissions, and support a truly circular economy.”

For now, while Romania has become a policy model abroad, for Chitucescu, the success is not measured in billions of bottles but in what she doesn’t see anymore in her community.

When heavy rain falls, bottles aren’t swept into the streams anymore. When she walks through the village, the streets are free of the rubbish that once littered them.

Her brother, who lives in Spain, is envious. He tells her they don’t have a similar system there, and it’s one of the rare things Romania is doing exceptionally well.

“He’s jealous of us, and he’s right, it’s beneficial for us and for the environment,” said Chitucescu.

WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announced that AUMOVIO, the newly launched global technology company focused on future mobility, has selected a comprehensive suite of cloud solutions from SAP to help build its digital foundation.

These include SAP Cloud ERP Private, SAP Business Data Cloud, SAP Integrated Business Planning and SAP Signavio solutions.

Following its spinoff from Continental AG in September 2025, AUMOVIO is redefining the automotive landscape with its bold vision to make mobility safe, exciting, connected and autonomous. With over 100 years of experience and a global footprint of more than 86,000 employees across over 100 locations, AUMOVIO is now embracing SAP’s intelligent enterprise solutions to become even more dynamic, agile and competitive.

“This move to the cloud and these solutions will transform our operations,” said Thorsten Pache, CIO of AUMOVIO. “We’re building a digital-first foundation that allows us to scale innovation, respond to market shifts in real time and deliver intelligent mobility solutions that anticipate the needs of tomorrow’s drivers.”

The deployment of SAP Cloud ERP Private provides AUMOVIO with a more secure and flexible digital core, while SAP Business Data Cloud enables real-time data harmonization across its global footprint. SAP Integrated Business Planning supports comprehensive supply chain visibility and responsiveness, and SAP Signavio solutions empower continuous process optimization and transformation.

“Our collaboration with AUMOVIO demonstrates how cloud technology can accelerate reinvention,” said Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, Customer Services & Delivery. “By combining advanced planning, process intelligence and a unified data foundation, AUMOVIO is well positioned to lead in the era of connected and autonomous mobility.”

AUMOVIO’s transformation reflects its commitment to innovation, operational excellence and collaborative spirit. AUMOVIO is now better positioned to deliver cutting-edge solutions, from sensors and displays to autonomous driving platforms, while maintaining operational excellence and customer-centricity.

Visit the SAP News Center. Get SAP news via LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Media Contact:
Lesa Plingen, +49 622 776 9000, lesa.plingen@sap.com, CET
SAP Press Room; press@sap.com

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ABP

The boss of Boohoo and Debenhams could collect almost £150m in shares if he significantly boosts the value of the struggling fashion group, which is battling to turnaround sliding sales.

Debenhams Group said on Thursday that Dan Finley, the chief executive, is in line to receive £148.1m in stock in three years’ time, as part of an incentive scheme for top bosses worth more than £200m.

The scheme emerged as Debenhams Group said sales slumped 23% to £297m in the six months to 31 August, dragged down by a 41% dive in sales at its “youth brands”, which include Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing. Sales at its Karen Millen brand fell by 31%.

Sales in the Debenhams division of the group – which is now run as an online marketplace and also includes brands such as Oasis and Warehouse – increased sales by 20%.

The company said it had narrowed pre-tax losses to £2.5m from £130m in the prior year after it cut costs by £160m. It expects to slash another £60m in costs after exiting a warehouse in Daventry and in the US and putting another one in Burnley up for sale.

The group has been battling to revive sales after a boom during the Covid pandemic, when high street shops were closed, was followed by a slump in recent years amid new competition from retailers such as Shein and Temu. It has put its Pretty Little Thing brand up for sale.

The group – which was rebranded from Boohoo to Debenhams this year – said it was ditching an existing management reward scheme after a string of wrangles between Boohoo’s founders and shareholders over bonus payouts.

Under the new scheme, the share price must reach £3 on average over a 30-day period in three years’ time, which would value the company at £4.2bn, 25 times its value when the market opened on Thursday.

To achieve the full payout of £222.2m, shared among several executives, the share price must remain at that level for a further two years.

Alongside the £148m for Finley – who became the group chief executive in 2024, the company’s finance director, Phil Ellis, is in line for up to £14.8m. The rest would be shared with an undeclared group of other management. The executives could still share £21m if the share price hits a minimum of 60p.

The fashion group’s billionaire founder Mahmud Kamani will not participate in the scheme.

The latest reward scheme comes after a string of controversies at Boohoo over payouts to executives.

Last year the group backtracked on a plan to pay three top executives £1m each in bonuses despite reporting widening losses and falling into debt.

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In 2023, shareholders narrowly approved a “growth share plan” under which the then chief executive, John Lyttle, could receive a maximum of £50m in Boohoo shares, part of a total £175m payout to executives, if the company’s share price reached 395p.

The group said it would not seek shareholder approval of the new management reward plan because of concerns that Frasers Group, the group controlled by the Sports Direct founder, Mike Ashley, would intervene. Frasers is its largest shareholder, with almost 30% of the shares.

Debenhams said “a major competitor who is a significant shareholder of Debenhams continues to seek to disrupt the Debenhams Group’s growth strategy and operations rather than maximise its future success”, pointing to Frasers’ previous vote against an attempt to officially change the group’s name from Boohoo Group to Debenhams.

Aarin Chiekrie, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Boohoo is the right term to describe how its investors must be feeling now, with its shares down about 96% over the last five years.

“Despite this, and in typical poor corporate governance fashion for Boohoo, it has sidestepped its investors by announcing a new compensation scheme for the management team, without seeking shareholder approval. As a result, the pressure really is on management to deliver on its turnaround scheme.”

Preparing for moments when every second counts

Based on recommendations from industry colleagues and our advice, Simon Community NI was keen to use Moodle LMS as its learning management system. The platform provides all of the features and functionality the charity needs, and also offers great value.

We’ve helped Simon Community NI to bring everything related to its training into one place, where it can easily be accessed, managed and delivered.

The new LMS creates far more engaging learning experiences. All courses offer a consistent look and feel, as well as a more consistent standard of learning. Training is now interactive, with a range of multimedia content available to engage learners.

Some learning will continue to be delivered centrally via face-to-face training. The new platform also gives Simon Community NI the tools to manage blended learning so that classroom learning remains a cohesive part of the learning experience when needed.

As Hamburg welcomes the Cruise Ship Interiors Exhibition for the first time, Continental showcases how skai surfaces combine comfort and design to elevate life at sea. Under the motto “Cruise in style – with skai” the company exhibits, among other things, its new skai Misuna EN upholstery surfaces for outdoor use, and surfaces with the staynu technology that preserve the perfect look, even after thousands of passengers.

Continental’s Surface Solutions (SSL) business area will showcase its premium skai portfolio at the Cruise Ship Interiors Expo (CSI) 2025, taking place December 3 to 4 at Hamburg Messe + Congress. Under the tagline “Cruise in style – with skai”, Continental will present innovative surface materials that combine functionality, durability, and design excellence at stand B52. For the first time in Germany, CSI brings together shipyards, cruise lines, architects, and designers to shape the future of cruise interiors. 

“We are delighted to be present at CSI and engage with the people that shape the future of cruise ships,” said Christelle Perico-Darras, Head of Hospitality, Healthcare & Public Areas EMEA at Continental. “We are convinced that our portfolio of surface materials which are equally functional, long-lasting, and advanced in design is exactly what this industry needs. Especially in light of growing budget awareness and the understanding that longevity is also a feature of sustainability.”

Company Announcement:
12:10 CET • 27 Nov 2025

Vestas Wind Systes A/S, Aarhus, 27 November 2025
Company Announcement No. 27/2025

On 5 November 2025, Vestas announced the initiation of a share buy-back programme, cf. Company Announcement No. 24/2025. The programme is implemented in accordance with Regulation No. 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (MAR) and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 (the “Safe Harbour Regulation”).

Prior to the share buy-back, Vestas held 12,357,143 treasury shares, equal to 1.2 percent of the share capital.

Under the programme, Vestas will buy back shares for an amount up to DKK 1,120m (approx. EUR 150m) in the period from 6 November 2025 to 17 December 2025.

The following transactions have been made under the programme during the period 20 November to 26 November 2025:

	Number of shares	Weighted average purchase price, DKK	Transaction value, DKK
Previously accumulated under the programme	2,545,000	154.66	393,598,055.50
Transactions during the period:
20 November 2025:	240,000	155.53	37,327,944.00
21 November 2025:	300,000	149.47	44,840,490.00
24 November 2025:	280,000	149.03	41,728,372.00
25 November 2025:	280,000	149.51	41,864,088.00
26 November 2025:	240,000	153.51	36,842,088.00
Total accumulated during the week	1,340,000	151.20	202,602,982.00
Total accumulated under the programme	3,885,000	153.46	596,201,037.50

Details of all the transactions relating to the share buy-back programme during the period are presented in the attached appendix.

Contact details
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Denmark

Daniel Patterson, Vice President
Investor Relations
Tel: +45 2669 2725

Frederik Holm Jacobsen, Senior Specialist
Investor Relations
Tel: + 45 2835 3365

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