Company: BBVXF
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000842180-25-000010
Chunk: 202

Company: BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 5
Chunk 202
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4, 2023 and 2022, our RWAs, our MREL requirements, the capital issuances of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. and the impact on BBVA’s CET1 arising from certain singular effects, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—Business Overview—Supervision and Regulation” and Note 32 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
C. Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, etc.
In 2024, we continued to foster the use of new technologies as a key component of our global development strategy. We explored new business and growth opportunities, focusing on three major areas: emerging technologies, digital banking and data driven initiatives, in each case with the customer as the focal point of our banking business.
The BBVA Group is not materially dependent on the issuance of patents, licenses and industrial, mercantile or financial contracts or on new manufacturing processes in carrying out its business purpose.
D. Trend Information
The European financial services sector is expected to remain competitive in the current challenging environment. See “Item 4. Information on the Company―Competition”. See also “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Business Risks—The Group faces increasing competition and is exposed to a changing business model”.
Trends expected to shape the sector’s profitability in the future include the following:
•high interest rates, especially in Spain, after a protracted period of low (or even negative) interest rates. The impact of high interest rates may be particularly significant in countries like Spain, where mortgages account for a significant proportion of credit (more than 40%) and approximately two-thirds of mortgage loans are estimated to have floating rates. While BBVA expects interest rates to decline in the near future, they are expected to remain in the range of 2.5%-3%. The persistence of high interest rates or any increase in interest rates in the future may lead to an increase in non-performing loans (and RWAs) and a decrease in the demand for loans, in addition to resulting in higher funding costs;
•a more challenging competitive environment with the entry of non-bank digital financial services providers, which are growing very fast in line with technological advances and becoming a very important competitor for the banking industry. These entities do not have to comply with a regulation scheme as strict as that applicable to banks. For additional information, see “Item 4. Information on the Company―Competition”;
•the completion and the implementation of the ongoing financial