Company: BBVXF
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000842180-25-000010
Chunk: 11

Company: BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 11
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 on the distribution or repatriation of dividends, thus worsening its position compared to that of local competitors. 
There can be no guarantee that the Group will be successful in developing and implementing policies and strategies in all of the countries in which it operates, some of which have experienced significant economic, political and social volatility in recent decades. In particular, the Group has a significant presence in several emerging countries, particularly in Mexico and in Turkey (see “—Political, economic and social conditions in any of Spain, Mexico and Turkey may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations”), and is therefore vulnerable to any deterioration in economic, social or political conditions in these countries. Further, the Group has significant operations in South America. 
Generally, emerging economies face higher anti-money laundering and other compliance risks as a result of greater political instability, higher levels of corruption, weaker governance structures and fewer financial and technical resources dedicated to enforcement. Further, emerging markets are generally affected by the conditions of other related markets and by the evolution of global financial markets in general (they may be affected, for example, by the evolution of GDP and interest rates in the United States and the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar), as well as by fluctuations in the prices of commodities. The risks associated with investing in emerging economies, in general, or in emerging markets where the Group operates, in particular, could trigger capital outflows from those economies and adversely affect such economies and therefore the Group. Moreover, emerging countries are more prone experiencing significant changes in inflation and volatility in exchange rates, which may have a material impact on the Group’s results of operations, assets (including RWAs) and liabilities. In Turkey, for example, inflation was 44.4% for the year ended December 2024 (according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, TUIK) and the Turkish lira depreciated 11.1% against the euro as of December 31, 2024 compared to December 31, 2023. 
The Group’s operations in emerging countries are also exposed to heightened political risks, such as changes in governmental policies, expropriation, nationalization, interest rate limits, exchange controls, capital controls, government restrictions on dividends or bank fees and adverse tax policies. For example, the repatriation of dividends from BBVA’s Venezuelan, Argentinian and Turkish subsidiaries is subject to certain restrictions and there is no assurance that these restrictions will be lifted in the future, or that further restrictions will not be imposed. Since BBVA