BBVA has won the ‘World’s Best Bank for Financial Inclusion’ category at the 2019 Euromoney Awards for Excellence, for making financial products and services available to those who are traditionally excluded from the formal banking system. In this regard, the panel of judges have especially considered the efforts of BBVA Microfinance Foundation.
For more than 25 years now, Euromoney magazine has been acknowledging financial institutions that represent the highest levels of service, innovation and specialization through the Euromoney Awards for Excellence. This year, BBVA has surpassed various categories, where the award for ‘World’s Best Bank for Financial Inclusion’ stands out, thanks to its efforts in poverty reduction through financial services. The panel of judges has especially considered the work of BBVA Microfinance Foundation –serving more than 2.1 million people in five Latin American countries–, aside from other initiatives currently implemented in this field.
BBVA received the Best Bank for Financial Inclusion award in the 2019 edition of Euromoney Awards for Excellence
Global head of Responsible Business at BBVA, Antoni Ballabriga, received the recognition in a ceremony celebrated in London, where he had the chance to emphasize the importance of creating awareness about the impacts of financial inclusion on people’s well-being and sustainable economic growth.
He shares that the bank has developed a business model “that allows it to adequately serve low-income populations thanks to new digital technologies, the expansion of branchless offices offering more products and services and innovative, low-cost financial solutions specifically designed for this segment.”
Indeed, BBVA created the Foundation in 2007 within its Corporate Social Responsibility framework, to make its banking experience and know-how available to people living under vulnerable conditions. Since then, the Foundation has consolidated itself as a microfinance sector reference. Through its six institutions through, it has disbursed more than USD 12 billion in loans to more than 5 million people, the majority of them, women, from five different countries in Latin America.
For the 2019 edition, BBVA has also been recognized in four categories: “Best Digital Bank in West Europe”, “Best Bank for Sustainable Finance in Latin America”, “Best Transactional Bank in Latin America” and “Best Investment Bank in Mexico”. This year, regional as well as international banks have brought home an award, after competing against almost 1,000 nominations from nearly 100 countries.
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Karessa Ramos, Communication BBVAMF