BBVA Germany: Jürgen von der Lehr takes over as head of the digital bank

In the next development phase, the aim is to align the bank's offering even more specifically with the requirements of the German market – one of the largest and most competitive financial markets in Europe.

For customers, this means above all that BBVA will continue to rely on a fully digital model and will further develop its offering so that it is even more consistently geared toward everyday usability, user experience, and market needs in Germany.

The appointment is part of BBVA's European growth strategy, which focuses on profitable growth in large markets using a digital model. Germany plays a central role in this: As the largest banking market in Europe, the location offers an attractive environment for a model that is scalable, competitive and consistently customer-oriented.

Murat Kalkan, Global Head of Digital Banks at BBVA, provided the context for this decision:

"Jürgen von der Lehr brings extensive experience in the areas of digital banking, transformation and strategy. This will help us to further develop our offering in Germany with specific goals in mind and to establish the basis for long-term, profitable growth."

Continuity is just as important as new ideas: Up to now, Luis Fiestas de Fuentes has successfully managed commercial activity in Germany, and has played a key role in establishing BBVA in the German market and laying the foundation for the next period of growth.

As part of the new structure, he will assume responsibility for two areas that are very central to the company's activities: Lending and Daily Banking, which are crucial for growth, relevance and customer benefit in Germany.

Jürgen von der Lehr brings extensive experience in the areas of banking, strategy, digital transformation and business development. Most recently, he was responsible for strategy, business development and sustainability at ING Germany and was also the company's general manager.

There, he managed the implementation of the company's corporate strategy, transformation programs, innovation initiatives, fintech partnerships, and end-to-end digitization projects.

Previously, he was in charge the Daily Banking division at ING, was the CEO of the Austrian company, and held the title of CTO in Luxembourg. Prior to joining ING, he worked for many years at Deutsche Bank, where he held leadership positions in the areas of digital innovation as well as investment and savings business. In addition, he was a partner at Oliver Wyman and worked at AT Kearney, focusing on retail banking, private banking, technology and growth in new markets.

For the digital bank in Germany, he brings with him a profile that combines both market understanding and implementation skills in complex environments.

In his new role, Jürgen von der Lehr will be responsible for promoting the continued expansion of BBVA's business in Germany, which is a key market within the company's European strategy. In particular, the focus will be on a digital banking offering that combines simplicity, strong customer experience and attractive products.

Jürgen von der Lehr describes BBVA's goal as follows:

"Germany is a large and demanding market with great potential for digital banking that combines simplicity, strong customer experience and attractive products. BBVA offers a compelling solution. Our goal is to provide customers with easy and secure ways to organize their finances in everyday life while also establishing long-term financial security."

With this appointment, BBVA is underscoring its goal of continuing to accelerate the development of its digital banking services in Germany. Its priorities are:

• a simple and intuitive customer experience
• competitive conditions
• personal customer service
• a wide range of banking services

In order to ensure that the next growth phase is successful, the product range will be even more specifically tailored to the needs of the German market, without losing sight of the advantages that a fully digital model has to offer.

This move is also part of BBVA's overarching digital banking strategy, which is geared toward profitable growth and scalability. The organizational structure was set up in such a way that:

• synergies in technology and product development can be better utilized,
• local management is strengthened
• decision-making processes in new European markets will become simpler.

In short: The infrastructure in Germany will be further developed in order to enable efficient continued growth.