BANKS love to talk up their tech credentials, but few go as far as BBVA, Spain’s second-biggest. In a surprise move last year, it promoted its head of digital banking, Carlos Torres, to second-in-command despite his lack of experience in retail banking. Digital transformation, the bank said, was its top strategic priority. To that end, it has spent around $200m over the past three years investing in fintech startups such as Atom, a British digital bank, and Simple, an American one. It has also invested in a data-crunching firm, a Bitcoin-trading outfit and a digital-design company, among others.
The shopping spree is not over yet. In mid-February BBVA injected an extra $150m into its $100m venture-capital arm and transferred it to a new subsidiary called Propel Venture Partners. This outfit, based in San Francisco and London, will operate independently of the rest of the bank, in an attempt to appeal to startups wary of working with a dinosaur.
BBVA is also trying to turn its existing operations into something resembling a tech firm. Some 600 employees at its headquarters near Madrid now work in small “scrums” incorporating people from...Continue reading
Source: Business and finance http://ift.tt/1S3Lwvn
EmoticonEmoticon