BBVA announced this Tuesday the appointment of former director Christina de Parias and Enrique Casanueva to the board. The former head of JP Morgan in Spain has joined as a director, expanding a bench that already includes José Maldonado and Juan Pi. Maldonado, who has long served as general secretary and later as a council member after the 2000 merger, remains a key adviser, while Pi, a veteran who joined the bank in 2011, coordinates the bank’s independent directors. With these additions, seven of the 15 board members are new since the tenure of Francisco González, who faced legal scrutiny in Spain related to past contracts.
Maldonado began as general secretary of the old Argentinaold public bank and continued in the same role after BBVA’s merger, later remaining on the board after a planned retirement as a director in 2009. He is considered an external advisor rather than a traditional insider, a status tied to his prior roles and influence within the group. The board composition reflects the broader integration of entities that merged in 2000, forming BBVA’s current governance framework.
Christina de Parias, born in 1965 in Spain, has held leadership positions across Banesto and Citibank. She joined Argentaria in 1998, continued through the merger with BBV, and managed operations in Spain and Portugal. She currently serves on the boards of BBVA’s Mexican subsidiaries and oversees roles at Endesa and Sanitas Seguros. Enrique Casanueva, born in 1961, has a background with Procter and Gamble and later Goldman Sachs and Santander. He joined JP Morgan in 2000 and has held a range of leadership roles there for 17 years.
Growing female representation
Both appointees bring deep banking knowledge and broad international experience, having held top responsibilities in major financial institutions in key markets. With a total of 15 directors on the board, female representation rises to 47 percent, up from six to seven women, while independent executives remain a majority at 67 percent in the overall composition. This shift signals BBVA’s ongoing emphasis on diverse expertise across governance and strategy.
The proposed appointments require approval from the European Central Bank and the BBVA shareholders’ meeting. The upcoming session in Bilbao on March 15 will also consider the re-election of a former governor of the Bank of Spain as a director, along with other names. The meeting may also address capital depreciation guidance and the potential for variable remuneration tied to share buyback programs, with incentive levels that could reach up to 200 percent of the fixed salary under certain scenarios.