BBVA president Carlos Torres Vila used the Gran Vía forum – which was organized in the BBK hall – to stress that Euskadi was now a “strategic region” for the entity. He said this in front of more than 250 attendees and after recalling that the bank is focusing an important part of its development in data science and artificial intelligence in Bilbao, a commitment reflected in centers such as BBVA Technology or Spark. Two not-so-small numbers: more than 300 engineers in the technology center and a 40% jump in the number of employees since 2021.
Despite the optimistic tone, Torres avoided giving away the key that will determine the region’s future competitiveness. Between references to industrial dynamism and local entrepreneurship – “Bilbao was born bankable and still technological” – he left floating the question: What is the determining factor that will determine the economic pace of Euskadi in the next two years?
BBVA promotes Bilbao as a technology node while warning of structural challenge
| factor | He deserves | date | fountain |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBVA staff in Euskadi | 1500 employees | 2025 | PBVA |
| Basque GDP growth | 2.3-2.4% | Closing 2025 | BBVA Research Forecast |
The most important information revealed by Torres
From this point on, Torres revealed the element that determines economic progress: demographics. The bank president warned that Euskadi’s population loss is slowing its growth potential. “It’s a region that’s starting from a good place with technology, but it faces a clear challenge: the population is declining more than other regions,” he said. This decline results in lower productivity, limits the labor base and reduces the size of the economy.
Commenting is not simple. According to the National Institute of Statistics, the Basque population is facing a decade of stagnation, and Eurostat is already predicting that the region will be one of the oldest in Europe in 2030. An expert from the Bank of Spain summed it up in a 2024 report: “Demographics determines productivity more than automation in mature regions.”
Bilbao as an accelerator for artificial and quantum intelligence
The reality is that BBVA continues to expand its technology footprint. The BBVA Technology Center now has more than 300 professionals, while Torre BAT’s Spark works with startups seeking funding for climate and data projects. This is a commitment that is in line with the regional campaign to transform Bizkaia into a quantum centre, a region in which they are already collaborating on “banking in quantum days”.
This scene reminds us of the early morning tram queues in Abando: young talent mixed with seasoned engineers. Torres put it this way: “We can’t move forward alone; we need companies, universities, and institutions.” The presence of the Regional Council, the Basque Government and business representatives made it clear that cooperation between the public and private sectors is still alive.
What does this mean for the Basque economy?
- More technology workers: This is confirmed by the growth in the number of employees by 40% over four years.
- Increased investment in artificial intelligence applied to finance: From risk algorithms to predictive models.
- Strong GDP growth but lower than in Spain: 2.3-2.4% compared to 3% at the national level.
- The real demographic risk: A lower population means less labor supply and less economic power.
Productivity is the second silent challenge
Torres insisted that Euskadi, like Spain, must work to improve productivity. He gave everyday examples: factories that continue to operate with processes inherited from twenty years ago, or small and medium-sized companies that still do not measure their energy costs in real time. The Bank of Spain has already warned in June 2024 that Spanish productivity is growing “at a rate insufficient to sustain wage increases without inflationary tensions.” This quote, brief but powerful, fits perfectly with the BBVA president’s thinking.
BBVA Spark, for its part, seeks to correct this gap by helping local startups access venture capital and scale faster. The Energy Technology Summit, which will celebrate its third edition in 2026, aims to turn Bilbao into an international climate technology showcase.
Strategic area with double speed
The picture left by the Gran Vía Forum is contradictory. On the one hand, Bilbao integrates a high-level technology hub, powered by data science, artificial intelligence and quantum. On the other hand, demographic and productivity factors can act as a brake if they are not corrected in time. The equation is clear: more innovation, less population.
At the same time, BBVA continues to expand services to its 500,000 clients in Euskadi, including nearly 20,000 companies and around 4,000 SMEs. There is a basis, according to Torres, that will justify the bank continuing to regard Euskadi as a “key platform” for the next decade.
What is unknown now is whether the region will be able to accelerate its employment structure to accommodate the coming technological growth. Will there be enough talent? Will productivity respond? The answers, Torres said, will depend on collaboration between institutions, businesses and society.