Company: BBVXF
Filing Date: 2025-04-29
Form Type: 6-K
Source: 0000842180-25-000023
Chunk: 82

Company: BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-04-29
Form: 6-K
Chunk 82
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 could allow the European Central Bank to implement slightly larger-than-expected rate cuts, although this would also depend, among other factors, on the EU’s response to U.S. tariffs, which could create additional inflationary pressures. Beyond higher import tariffs, tighter U.S. controls on migration flows could affect the labor market, add to inflationary pressures and weigh on economic growth. The new U.S. administration’s fiscal, regulatory, industrial and foreign policies, among others, could likewise contribute to financial and macroeconomic volatility.

In addition, there is a high risk of sovereign debt tensions, given the high debt levels in both developed and emerging countries, relatively high interest rates, and weak economic growth prospects.

Rising trade protectionism and the growing rivalry between the United States and China, among other factors, could intensify geopolitical tensions, against a backdrop of persistent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Similarly, recent negotiations aimed at ending the war between Ukraine and Russia could fuel global tensions in the long term, despite potentially having short-term benefits, including downward pressure on energy prices. In response to these risks and the changes in the foreign policy of the new U.S. administration, the European Union has adopted measures to increase military spending, which could support growth but, to some extent, add pressure on inflation and interest rates in the region.

Overall, rising global geopolitical tensions increase uncertainty around the outlook for the world economy and the likelihood of economic and financial disruptions, including an economic recession.

The Group is exposed, among others, to the following general risks related to the economic and institutional environment in the countries where it operates: a deterioration in economic activity, including potential recession scenarios; inflationary pressures that could lead to tightening of monetary conditions; stagflation triggered by intense or prolonged supply shocks, including as a result of a protectionist escalation or a sharp rise in oil and gas prices; exchange rate volatility; adverse developments in real estate markets; changes in the institutional environment of the countries where the Group operates, which could lead to sudden and pronounced GDP contractions and/or shifts in regulatory or government policy, including capital controls, dividend restrictions, or the imposition of new taxes or levies; high levels of public debt or external deficits, which could lead to sovereign credit rating downgrades or even defaults or debt restructurings; the impact of policies adopted by the new U.S. administration, about which significant uncertainty remains; and episodes of financial market volatility, such as those seen recently, that could result in significant losses for the Group.

In Spain, political, regulatory,