A2 · ElementaryAdapted from Expansión

BBVA's Market Share: How Banks Talk About Clients

BBVA y su cuota de mercado: ¿cómo habla un banco de sus clientes?

Sep 28, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

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BBVA es un banco español muy conocido. Peio Belausteguigoitia es el responsable de BBVA en España. Un lunes, en un encuentro financiero, habló sobre los clientes del banco. Dijo que este año el banco va a repetir la misma cifra de captación de clientes particulares del año pasado: un millón de usuarios nuevos. Belausteguigoitia también dijo que muchos de estos clientes nuevos son jóvenes.

El banco también apuesta por la digitalización. Belausteguigoitia habló de la omnicanalidad: todos los canales mantienen una conversación única con el cliente. Describió la inteligencia artificial como una herramienta muy potente. El banco está creando capacidades en datos y seguridad para construir agentes de IA.

El banquero cree que el cliente será el gran beneficiado de esta tecnología. La app del banco va a ofrecer un canal diferente: muchas cosas que antes solo se podían hacer en persona, ahora se podrán hacer 24 horas al día, siete días a la semana. En los próximos meses, el asistente de IA de la app podrá tener una conversación similar a la de una persona.

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Watch out, English speaker

English speakers often use the simple future ('will do') for near-future events, but Spanish prefers 'ir a + infinitive' for plans and predictions. For example, 'El banco va a repetir...' translates as 'The bank is going to repeat...', not 'will repeat'. Using the simple future here can sound overly formal or less natural in everyday speech. When reporting what someone said, English often shifts tenses (e.g., 'He said he would...'), but Spanish 'decir que' with a past main verb can still use the present or 'ir a' future if the situation is still relevant. For instance, 'Dijo que este año el banco va a repetir...' means 'He said that this year the bank is going to repeat...'—not 'was going to'. English speakers might incorrectly backshift to 'was going to', which changes the meaning.

Key vocabulary

bancom.
bank
“BBVA es un banco español muy conocido.”— BBVA is a very well-known Spanish bank.
Pattern banco español Spanish bank
Compare entidad financiera financial institution
Plural: bancos
💡 Note that banco can also mean "bench"; context distinguishes.
clientem./f.
client, customer
“Los clientes eligen BBVA para hacer transacciones con el banco.”— Clients choose BBVA to carry out transactions with the bank.
Pattern cliente particular individual customer
Compare usuario user
Plural: clientes
💡 clientes particulares refers to individual customers, as opposed to business customers.
cuotaf.
share; quota
“El grupo aumentó su cuota de mercado en nóminas.”— The group increased its market share in payroll accounts.
Pattern cuota de mercado market share
Compare porcentaje percentage
Plural: cuotas
💡 cuota de mercado is a high-frequency phrase in business news.
nóminaf.
payroll; direct deposit
“Ahora tiene un 17,5% en nóminas.”— It now has 17.5% in payroll accounts.
Pattern cuota en nóminas payroll deposit share
Compare salario salary
Plural: nóminas
💡 In banking contexts, nómina often refers to "payroll deposit services."
aumentarv.
to increase, to grow
“El grupo aumentó su cuota de mercado.”— The group increased its market share.
Pattern aumentar la cuota increase the share
Compare subir rise
Indicative present: aumento, aumentas, aumenta...
💡 aumentar is more formal than subir, often used in business reporting.
digitalizaciónf.
digitalization
“El banco también apuesta por la digitalización.”— The bank is also committed to digitalization.
Pattern apostar por la digitalización commit to digitalization
Compare transformación digital digital transformation
Plural: digitalizaciones
💡 Root digital (digital) + -ización (-ization).
herramientaf.
tool
“Describió la inteligencia artificial como una herramienta muy potente.”— He described artificial intelligence as a very powerful tool.
Pattern herramienta potente powerful tool
Compare instrumento tool
Plural: herramientas
💡 Note that h is silent, and it starts with an "e" sound.
beneficiadom.
beneficiary
“El cliente será el gran beneficiado de esta tecnología.”— The client will be the great beneficiary of this technology.
Pattern el gran beneficiado the biggest beneficiary
Compare ganador winner
Plural: beneficiados; feminine: beneficiada
💡 From the verb beneficiar (to benefit), with -ado added to form a noun.

Grammar spotlight

ir a + infinitive (near future)

In Spanish, to say what is going to happen, use the correct form of ir + a + infinitive. This structure is more common in everyday speech than the simple future tense.

“El banco va a repetir la misma cifra de captación de clientes.”— The bank is going to repeat the same number of customer acquisitions.

⚠️ Don't forget the a. You can't say voy hacer; you must say voy a hacer.

decir que + indicative (noun clause)

When you say that someone says something, use decir que to introduce the clause. If the main verb is in the past (dijo), the dependent verb is usually also in the past, but it can also refer to a future that is still valid.

“Dijo que este año el banco va a repetir la misma cifra.”— He said that this year the bank is going to repeat the same figure.

⚠️ Don't use decir de que; the correct form is decir que.

Sentence patterns to steal

Los clientes eligen BBVA para hacer transacciones con el banco.
Customers choose BBVA to carry out transactions with the bank.
subject + elegir + place/person + para + infinitiveYou can replace the object after elegir and the verb after para, e.g., Los clientes eligen esta tienda para comprar ropa.
Describió la inteligencia artificial como una herramienta muy potente.
He described artificial intelligence as a very powerful tool.
describir + noun + como + noun/adjectiveYou can replace the object being described and the description, e.g., Describió el proyecto como un éxito.
El cliente será el gran beneficiado de esta tecnología.
The customer will be the great beneficiary of this technology.
subject + ser + el gran beneficiado de + nounYou can replace the subject and the noun after de, e.g., Los jóvenes serán los grandes beneficiados de esta ley.

BBVA and Spanish Banking

BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) is Spain's second-largest bank, headquartered in Bilbao. Competition in Spanish banking is fierce, with Santander and BBVA as the two giants. In recent years, Spanish banks have invested heavily in digitalization and artificial intelligence, and mobile banking app adoption rates are among the highest in Europe.

Source: Wikipedia / BBVA official website

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