BBVA and KKR Form Strategic Partnership

By Simon Jessop
New York (Reuters) – Spanish lender BBVA and U.S. investor KKR announced on Friday their strategic partnership aimed at investments tied to the world’s climate-driven transition to a low-carbon economy.

BBVA will invest $200 million in KKR’s Global Climate Strategy, as stated in a joint announcement during New York Climate Week. The initiative will also explore climate infrastructure-related investments.

“We are confident that the second part of this decade will see strong growth of new low-carbon infrastructures. It is an immense opportunity,” said Javier Rodriguez Soler, BBVA’s global head of sustainability and corporate & investment banking.

The KKR collaboration will be a “key piece” of BBVA’s sustainability strategy, positioning it as a leader in finance and advisory services for clients in the U.S. and Europe.

“With KKR’s proven experience in this area, we will share knowledge across our teams and capabilities to amplify investments in infrastructure and climate projects,” Soler added.

BBVA highlights sustainability as one of its six strategic priorities, supported by a global financing unit focused on clean technology innovation with offices in New York, London, Madrid, and Houston.

To date, KKR has made three investments from its climate strategy, including in UK-based transport electrification and battery storage provider Zenobe, and U.S. utility-scale solar developer Avantus.

Emmanuel Lagarrigue, co-head of KKR’s global climate strategy, stated, “We are still in the early innings of what will be a multi-decade transition to net zero (carbon emissions), which is one of the biggest investment opportunities of our time. This requires participation from across the financial sector.”

He added, “We are delighted to collaborate with BBVA given their industry-leading presence within the renewables sector and their commitment to mitigating the impacts of climate change.”