Big interview All in a day’s work
From its roots in the Basque Country, BBVA has enjoyed a storied history, now boasting a presence across dozens of countries. Yet between natural disasters and the struggles of the pandemic, the Spanish giant hasn’t always had it easy – something the bank’s new global head of engineering and organisation intimately understands. Andrea Valentino talks to José Luis Elechiguerra to learn about his career so far, his ambitious digitalisation plans for BBVA, and what all this means for his own role – and that of his counterparts at other institutions.
f you know where to look, you can find a whole history of banking in Bilbao. Make your way through the narrow lanes of the old town, past the medieval cathedral to Plaza San Nicolas. There – opposite a sandstone steeple and flanked by black Victorian lamp posts – sits a handsome neoclassical palace. Stop for a moment to admire the twin lion sculptures above the doorway, then step inside. You’ll soon find it: books and memos and accounting ledgers spanning 150 years, the oldest banking archive in Spain and one of the most impressive anywhere. Two of the banks that would one day merge to create Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) had already existed for decades before the day in 1971 when the Plaza San Nicolas archive was unveiled. That alone is
I
impressive about the place. Its ability to recover from setbacks is impressive too. Despite a catastrophic 1983 flood, which ravaged Bilbao and the palace in the square, the space is now bigger and more comprehensive than ever. Since 1999, it has hosted the archives of Corporación Argentaria, the third and final of BBVA’s constituent banks. In its age and turbulent history, its battles and successes, there’s plenty to learn from the BBVA archive – not least because it so neatly encapsulates the story of the institution as a whole. From its roots in the Basque Country, the bank has expanded to 30 markets, with Spain and Portugal alone boasting 3,700 offices. That’s shadowed by around 35 million digital customers and nearly the same number logging in from their phones. Like its site at Plaza San Nicolas, meanwhile, BBVA has gone through hard
8
Future Banking /
www.nsbanking.com
Clavivs/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61
