For BBVA, and the Spanish economy it operates within, things keep getting better. The bank’s declining rate of non-performing loans (4.4% in March 2018 compared with 4.9% the previous year) and falling cost of risk reflect a national economy that has grown by more than 3% over the past three years, well above the eurozone average.
Over the past few months, rating agencies Moody's, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch have all upgraded Spain’s debt ratings. Sovereign borrowing costs have fallen sharply and unemployment is down from 26% in 2013 to 16% today. According to an observation in April by Alberto Nadal, who was the secretary of state for budgets for the then ruling Popular party, the present represents “the greatest economic period in Spanish history”.
