04 April 2024
Cross-border business: a value-added contribution to global clients
We live in a world where cooperation between teams in different geographic areas and markets is essential to create solutions and products that meet the demands and needs of customers in various parts of the world. BBVA CIB is a global investment bank with local presence and experience, which offers institutions and companies tailor-made, innovative and sophisticated advisory and financial solutions to optimize their investment and financing operations. Cross-border business encompasses all possible facets: knowledge, talent, resources and available technology. The expertise of the teams is nurtured by the shared knowledge and experience acquired over the years by each team in each market.
Cross-border business is a strategic pillar for the growth of BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking, and currently represents more than 35% of the area's total revenues. BBVA CIB offers a global value proposition for multinationals backed by BBVA's leading franchises in its footprint and a network of specialists present in different parts of the world. The bank's extensive global presence allows it to be a pioneer in providing cross-border solutions to clients in all the countries where it operates. This strategy, supported by innovative technology, facilitates cost-effective, efficient expansion and provides a unified view of products and services in all geographic regions.
What differential value does BBVA CIB provide and how do cross-border teams work?
The differential value of BBVA CIB's business lies in the wide diversification of products and countries in which it operates and which, together with the proximity and knowledge of the geographies in which it is present, gives the team a cross-cutting vision of its customers and entire value chain. This allows the group's cross-border geographic dimension to be put at the service of wholesale customers, in addition to making the firm's global expertise available to local teams to provide excellent service.
The entity has a group of 86 bankers globally, located in the main geographies and dedicated to serving the needs of wholesale clients, with a coverage model that includes local and global client and product teams. The global dimension of the team is complemented by a specific cross-border unit, with specialists in each geography, who work to foster connectivity and collaboration between teams and drive cross-border business with customized solutions adapted to each situation. The relevance of the cross-border teams and the functioning of cross-border collaboration lies in their ultimate goal, which is to provide the best service to customers, regardless of the country in which they are located.
Technology also plays a very important role. In the cross-border business, technological solutions must be efficient and scalable to all geographies, in order to be more profitable, in addition to being able to offer a comprehensive offer, accessible to any customer anywhere in the world.
In short, the cross-border collaboration model of the BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking teams strengthens the wealth of knowledge and value offered to wholesale clients, while at the same time making an active and significant contribution to the Group's results thanks to its efficiency and scalability. Cross-border business is therefore a critical part of investment banking, not only for BBVA, but for any team with a global service vocation.
In this regard, Teresa García-Agulló, Head of Global Cross Border at BBVA CIB, explains: "Our cross-border strategy is a key pillar of our growth, as our geographic presence puts us in a privileged position to capture the opportunities offered by the Latam-USA-Europe triangle and Asia to Latam. At the same time, it represents our commitment to excellence and a comprehensive vision of service to all wholesale customers in all regions of the world. And as part of this commitment, the cross-border team not only promotes links between clients, geographies and products, but also contributes to the search for opportunities from a sector and sustainability perspective.