BBVA makes climate action and sustainability central to its business as founding signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Banking

HOUSTON, Sept. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA USA today became one of the Founding Signatories of the Principles for Responsible Banking, committing to strategically align its business with the Sustainable Development Goals.

By signing the Principles, BBVA joins a coalition of 130 banks worldwide in committing to taking on a crucial role in helping to achieve a sustainable future.

The official launch of the Principles took place at the start of the UN General Assembly and marked the beginning of the most significant partnership to date between the global banking industry and the UN.

"This week, global leaders will come together to share the actions they are taking to attain the Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the launch event, attended by the 130 founding signatories and over 45 of their CEOs. "With these critically important commitments and actions from nations worldwide comes the opportunity, right now, to build a sustainable economy.

"The Principles for Responsible Banking are a significant move towards this sustainable economy. We cannot achieve our goals without a sustainable financial sector. I commend the signatories to the Principles and call on them to immediately begin the hard work of making good on their promises."

By signing the Principles, BBVA has committed to using its products, services and relationships to support and accelerate the fundamental changes necessary to achieve shared prosperity for both current and future generations, as expressed in the Principles for Responsible Banking. The bank further supports the Principles' understanding that clients, customers and businesses can thrive only in an inclusive society founded on human dignity, equality and the sustainable use of natural resources.

"A banking industry that plans for the risks associated with climate change and other environmental challenges can not only drive the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies, it can benefit from it," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). "When the financial system shifts its capital away from resource-hungry, brown investments to those that back nature as solution, everybody wins in the long-term."

The Principles for Responsible Banking are supported by a strong implementation and accountability framework. By signing them, BBVA and other signatory banks commit to transforming the banking industry to enable it to play a leading role in achieving society's goals as expressed in the Sustainable Development goals.

"The Principles for Responsible Banking are our collective response to align the banking business with long-term goals that integrate social and environmental challenges," said Carlos Torres Vila, Executive Chairman of BBVA. "These principles will definitely help us to become better banks and reinforce the sustainability of the whole financial system. The future of Finance is financing thinking about the Future."   

"The UN Principles reinforce and codify the commitment BBVA USA has made to supporting environmental sustainability and contributing to positive social impact in the communities we serve," said BBVA USA President and CEO Javier Rodríguez Soler. "Working toward the bank's purpose to bring the age of opportunity to everyone, our goal is to build a more sustainable future for our communities and for our company, through the infrastructure we fund, the industries we help finance, and the products and services we develop and offer to our customers."
The Principles for Responsible Banking and their Framework Documents can be found here.
For more information, including infographics and videos, visit https://www.unepfi.org/banking/bankingprinciples/

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About BBVA

BBVA Group
BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a strong leadership position in the Spanish market and is the largest financial institution in Mexico. It has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States. It is also the leading shareholder in Turkey's BBVA Garanti. BBVA's purpose is to bring the age of opportunities to everyone, based on our customers' real needs: provide the best solutions, helping them make the best financial decisions, through an easy and convenient experience. The institution rests in solid values: Customer comes first, we think big and we are one team. BBVA's responsible banking model aspires to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable society.

BBVA USA
In the U.S., BBVA is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 641 branches, including 329 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 63 in Arizona, 61 in California, 45 in Florida, 37 in Colorado and 17 in New Mexico. The bank ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (6th). In the U.S., BBVA has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and ranked 8th nationally in terms of dollar volume of SBA loans originated in fiscal year 2018.

SOURCE BBVA USA