BBVA sees US market as ‘huge opportunity’
The Spanish banking group said that its BBVA Compass business will put digital at the forefront of its US strategy.
The Spanish banking group said that its BBVA Compass business will put digital at the forefront of its US strategy.
Spanish banking group BBVA’s chief executive officer (CEO), Carlos Torres, says that the US market represents a ‘huge opportunity’ for the group. Its BBVA Compass division currently operates 672 US branches, including 344 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 75 in Arizona, 62 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 19 in New Mexico and contributed 11% of BBVA’s net attributable profit in 2016. In comments posted on bbva.com, Torres commented: “The US continues to be a key market for the group, both because of its attractiveness and very healthy margins. It is also very digital. It’s one of the societies where consumers have embraced digital the most and that is a huge opportunity for a bank like us, which has put digital in the forefront of our strategy.”
The online video also includes comments from BBVA Compass CEO Onur Genç, who joined the bank in December 2016. He said that BBVA Compass’ immediate priorities in the US including leveraging the bank’s digital capabilities to boost consumer lending across the board.
Genç previously served as deputy CEO of Garanti Bank, Turkey’s largest bank by market capitalisation and led its retail banking, private banking, payment systems, asset management efforts, financial institutions and correspondent banking, among other responsibilities. BBVA is Garanti’s largest shareholder, with a 49.85% stake. Prior to Garanti, Genç was a senior partner and Turkey office manager at McKinsey & Company. He became partner in 2004, rising to senior partner and Turkey office manager in 2009. Genç began his career in 1997 as a financial controller for American Airlines in Dallas, Texas.