Management changes
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA
10 January 2003
'BBVA, S.A.', pursuant to the provisions of section 82 of the Securities Market
Act, hereby announces the following
SIGNIFICANT EVENT
10th January 2003
BBVA makes management
changes in ongoing shake-up
Restructuring is intended to help bank tackle new challenges
Yesterday the BBVA Board of Directors gave the go-ahead to the extensive Group
management reorganization proposed by the Executive Chairman, Francisco
Gonzalez. The new Executive Committee, which has been slimmed down from 14 to 12
members, will develop the new banking model to meet the new challenges and
opportunities facing the sector, moving closer to what society is demanding from
the financial industry.
The management board will now be cut from 14 to 12, a move that will make it
more flexible. We need a more agile structure, more compact and integrated, in
which each business unit has greater autonomy and decision capability. The new
structure is going to allow us to accelerate the implantation of our business
model, the chairman said.
The BBVA management reorganization is designed to afford the Group a lighter,
more flexible structure, giving the business areas more scope of action and
focusing more heavily on society's and the business' present and future needs.
The changes form part of a process that began at the AGM last March, at which a
new business approach was outlined.
Now we are going to take a big step forward by reorganizing our management
structure to tailor it to that new business approach, said Francisco Gonzalez.
We need a lighter, more compact and integrated structure, in which each business
unit has more scope of action and decision-making power. All in order to ensure
that BBVA is better placed to meet the new society's changing needs. The new
structure will enable us to implement our business model faster.
Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri emphasized that the approved changes will put BBVA in
a firmer, more stable position. This team is going to spearhead BBVA
transformation over the next three years, he said. The new business area
structure is part of our strategy of taking a new approach to customers.
There will now only be three business areas, which will report to the Chief
Executive Officer: Retail Banking, where Julio Lopez remains General Manager,
will be taking over the Spanish Asset Management, Investment Services and
Insurance activities; Wholesale and Investment Banking, with Jose Maria Abril at
the helm, will also include the Real Estate and Private Equity areas; and the
America area, with Vitalino Nafria as the new General Manager, will account for
all the banking, pensions and insurance activities in the region, including BBVA
Bancomer.
The reshuffle has also had a bearing on some of the business support areas. The
new Human Resources and General Services, with Angel Cano at the helm, will also
be responsible for General Services, Procurement and Security. Ignacio
Sanchez-Asiain will be taking over Operating Resources, mainly the Organization
and Systems Areas; Manuel Gonzalez Cid is the new Chief Financial Officer, and
will also be responsible for Corporate Expansion and quoted industrial companies
(telecommunications and energy). Manuel Mendez remains in charge of the Risk
Department, which the same scope of responsibilities.
Nor have there been any changes in the areas reporting to the Executive
Chairman: Eduardo Arbizu remains General Manager of Legal Affairs, and has taken
over responsibility for the Fiscal Area; Jose Maldonado remains the General
Secretary; and Javier Ayuso is General Manager for Corporate Communications.
Jose Sevilla will be coming in as the Head of the Chairman's Office, which is
responsible for Controlling activities, Internal Audit, Regulatory and
Compliance department, Economic Research and the Chairman's Technical Committee.
The chairman of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Francisco Gonzalez, made yet
more management changes with the early retirement of four directors from the
bank. The board shake-up is part of the bank's aim to tackle the new challenges
and opportunities in the sector. Jose Antonio Fernandez Rivero (operating
resources), Gregorio Villalabeita (industrial group), Jose Fonollosa (Latin
America), and Antonio Ortega (human resources) are those taking early retirement
and leaving the Executive Committee as part of the changes. All of them will be
BBVA representatives on Boards of Directors of invested companies.
10th January 2003
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange