BBVA more than doubles sustainable finance goal for next five years

BBVA is aiming to unlock €700 billion in sustainable finance by 2029 – more than double its previous goal for the 2018-2025 period.

The Spanish bank linked pay incentives to its goal to provide €300 billion in sustainable finance for all employees in 2021, and met this goal ahead of schedule in December 2024. 

Its new sustainable finance goal for 2029 is not only more than twice as high, but also limited to a shorter period of time: five years instead of eight.

“At BBVA we continue to view sustainability as a strategic priority and a key driver of differential growth. We believe that the business opportunity in the second part of the decade will be driven by solid investment in infrastructure and by the maturity of certain new clean technologies, which will make them ―many of those that are not yet― profitable,” said Global Head of Sustainability and Corporate and Investment Banking Javier Rodríguez Soler.

Breakdown of sustainable finance allocation

At the end of 2023, BBVA reported that 78% of the sustainable financing allocated so far was related to climate change (with the remaining 22% sent to ‘inclusive growth’ initiatives).

The bulk of the money (59%) came from its corporate and investment bank in the form of investments and corporate banking transactions for large clients, followed by commercial banking (27%) and retail customers (14%.

Funds went into activities including industrial electrification, energy efficiency measures, renewable projects and the promotion of solar self-consumption, as well as the transformation of the transport and logistics sector.

BBVA financed emissions targets

While promoting sustainable finance, BBVA has also set emissions reduction targets for polluting sectors within its client portfolio. For example, the bank aims to cut absolute financed emissions from upstream oil and gas by 30% and those from power generation by 52% by 2030.