Quarterly Report-September
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA
8 November 2000
BBVA
Quarterly Report - September 2000
In the third quarter of 2000 net attributable profit for the BBVA Group
totalled 534 million euros, therefore reaching 1,566 million euros for the
cumulative period ending September 2000. This is a 26.8% increase over the
comparable period in 1999. Despite the secondary share offering in May, ROE
reached 21.8% and the efficiency ratio ended at 52.6%, both metrics showing
positive improvement when compared to the prior period. On a year-over-year
basis, business income for the Group (Operating income & net income from
companies carried by the equity method) rose 30.1 % or 25.0% if you exclude
Mexico which shows the Incorporation of Bancomer in the third quarter.
During the third quarter, BBVA continued to gain lending market share in Spain,
and also gained market share in deposits, mutual and pension funds. Noteworthy
is the stellar development of BBVA Exito, a mutual fund that invests in the
more profitable sector funds of the BBVA Group and has more than 1.2 billion
euros in assets under management. As of September 30, 2000 the market share of
the Group in mutual funds grew to 22.5%, with an increase of 150 b.p. since
December. BBVA is the single financial services group showing a gain in total
assets managed for the year and five of its mutual funds were within the 11 best
performing funds for the first nine months of 2000.
With the July 1 incorporation of GFB Bancomer, the largest bank in Mexico, the
integration process started with regard to the structural and banking
businesses of BBVA in Mexico. Similarly, continued revenue generation from
high-growth businesses at BBVA Bancomer drove an agreement to purchase 49% of
Afore Bancomer and an equal percentage in the insurance group, ending with a
full equity interest. The closing of this transaction is expected during the
final quarter of this fiscal year. Afore Bancomer is the largest pension fund
management company in Mexico, with 2.7 million affiliates, and Seguros Bancomer
has 1.9 million policies in life insurance and other insurance activities,
Interesting developments arose in the Latin American private pension fund
business in which BBVA boasts a 31% market share. Namely, the businesses in El
Salvador (the management companies Porvenir, Maxima, and Prevision) are now
integrated in the new AFJP Crecer; in this market, BBVA holds 50% in funds
managed and 60% of total affiliates. In Colombia, the merger of Horizonte and
Colpatria is on its way.
In tandem with the traditional business development, the BBVA Group has a
well-defined e-business strategy. The BBVA Group is clearly positioned to
capitalize on the new technologies and processes of this area and the
implementation phase speedily advances within the different projects. The
Transform@project of redefining internal processes and the E-volucion project,
with an emphasis on market positioning are strategic projects within the CRE@
umbrella, or the Group business plan for 2000-2002, Uno-e services 38,000
clients and gathers deposits in the 100 million euro range. Additionally, BBVA
e-commerce S.A., the legally incorporated entity since June for the promotion
and development of e-commerce solutions continued on its path of implementing
B2B, B2C, and proprietary payment systems opportunities.
One year has passed since the Boards of Argentaria and BBV approved the BBVA
merger project; we can now confirm that the integration process is highly
advanced in terms of implementaton and is clearly surpassing all the initial
objectives and targets set forth. The merger process is a prime success due to:
- The agility with which key strategic decisions regarding the future of the
new entity were made.
- The immediate definition of both the organizational structure and the labour
frame that provided the stability necessary to initiate the integration
process, therefore mitigating the inherent risks of any merger.
- The speed in appointing work groups comprised of cross-functional
representatives and in establishing rigorous group projects and targets
across all business lines within the global merger project.
- The fulfillment of ambitious timelines which in most cases, have surpassed
the initial targets.
- The enthusiasm, goodwill, effort and collaborative spirit of the employees at
BBVA.
- And the absence of conflicts during the continued integration.
The key milestones of the third quarter are: the integration of Banco de
Comercio and the first branches of the Argentaria network, the definition of the
'ideal' BBVA branch network, the integration of the stockbroker/dealers in
Spain, the mutual fund management companies and pension fund companies in Spain,
and the factoring businesses. Similarly, the integration process of the
affiliates in Uruguay has been completed and the process of streamlining the
representative offices structure in Latin America as well as the merger of BBV
Securities and Argentaria International Securities in New York is in its final
phases.
The integration process received a strong push from the decision to adopt a
single brand, BBVA, this last January; this has allowed a rapid and substantial
increase In brand recognition. The integration of the retail businesses in
Spain-BBVA, Banca Catalana, Banco del Comercio and Banco de Alicante - is the
key to leveraging the strong branch network and the single brand strategy that
is now being maximized with the implementation of signage and other images:
during the third quarter, signage has already been posted in 1,700 branches, and
the year target is more than 3,000. The absortion of Banca Catalana and Banco de
Alicante last July determined the closing of 158 branches; additionally the
integration last September of Banco del Comercio produced a further 116
closings. Also the integration of the HQ and intermediate levels in the retail
structure has been completed.
The integration plan of the global businesses was defined and approved during
the first months of the merger; the plan included 41 programs designed to
streamline the holding structure which affects 73 entities. The execution phase
is now 6 months ahead of the initial schedule.
The excellent development of the BBVA Group and the confidence the market has
in terms of future performance resulted in share price appreciation of 9.4% for
the third quarter of 2000, thus ending at 17.12 euros. Year-to-date, the BBVA
share price has outperformed by 21.1%, vs. 9.0% for the banks included in the
Euro Stoxx 50. As of September 2000, the BBVA Group's market capitalization was
53,974 million euros (9 trillion pesetas), almost 16 billion euros more than
when the merger was announced.
The third interim dividend for the current fiscal period was paid on October 10,
for a total (gross) of 10.65 pesetas or 6.4 eurocents. As of 3Q00, the total
dividends and return of nominal capital for the year is 36.28 pesetas (21.8
euros).