BBVA selects Telefónica to strengthen its communications network

Madrid, November 3rd 2017.- BBVA today signed a global strategic agreement with Telefónica that will allow the bank to optimize its communications, increase the capacity of its technological network and facilitate operations in the “cloud.”

The accord, by which Telefónica becomes a priority partner of BBVA, adds to the series of alliances that the Group is making with strategic partners, in order to become a more flexible and scalable digital bank. BBVA CEO [Carlos Torres Vila](https://search.bbva.com/en/bbva?searchbbvaen=Carlos Torres Vila) and Ángel Vilá Boix, COO of Telefónica, signed the agreement in Madrid.

“Communication and technology are key levers for BBVA as we progress in our transformation process, in order to offer our clients digital products and services that will help them reach their goals. This agreement with Telefónica reinforces our strategy of becoming the bank with the best solutions for making a positive impact on peoples’ lives,” said Carlos Torres Vila.

Telefónica COO Angel Vilá Boix added: “BBVA is an international benchmark in digital transformation in its sector and we are very pleased to collaborate in this process as a strategic partner. This agreement is another example of Telefónica's objective of offering our customers the best solutions to optimize their communications and technological processes so that they can continuously adapt them to their needs. "

The agreement foresees converting the current communications network to a “service platform” mode that will improve the capacity and the management of the Group’s global communications. In addition, it will guarantee the new bandwidth needs required by the cloud environments and by the exponential increase in transactions which is a characteristic of digital banking services.

For BBVA, selecting a single partner for its global communications network provides advantages in terms of agility, simplicity and efficiency, and allows the Group to take maximum advantage of the possibilities of cloud computing.

The agreement between BBVA and Telefónica will allow the Group to:

• Increase network capacity by as much as tenfold while minimizing costs, thanks to the integration of the connection services into a single global provider, with the support of its technological and network capacities.

• Improve time-to-market for the adoption of new programming and network virtualization technologies (SDN and NFV), reducing the time it takes to launch new services down to a matter of hours. An experience supplemented by a comprehensive portal for all the services and a catalogue of APIs that will enable the integration of Telefónica’s systems into BBVA’s.

• Optimize the customer experience, thanks to greater speed, without delays, in its communications with the online channels in all geographies, with a more agile and secure connection.

In this way, BBVA continues to strengthen its network of alliances with priority technological partners, which was initiated in 2016 and includes leading companies such as Cisco, Red Hat, Amazon Web Services and IBM.

About BBVA

BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a strong leadership position in the Spanish market, is the largest financial institution in Mexico, it has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States; and it is also the leading shareholder in Garanti, Turkey’s biggest bank for market capitalization.

Its diversified business is focused on high-growth markets and it relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices.

From left to right: Ángel Vilá Boix, COO of Telefónica and BBVA CEO, Carlos Torres Vila