Bankia, the fourth largest financial institution in Spain¹, has selected Avaloq’s on-premises solution to support the bank’s aspiration to further grow its wealth management business. Bankia, which selected Avaloq after a highly competitive tender process, is the wealthtech’s first Spanish banking client.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis worldwide, Bankia and Avaloq have risen to the challenge and are working together closely on a new project despite the restrictions in place with regard to physical interactions. This is proof of the high degree of digitalization within the financial industry, and it has become apparent that financial institutions that have invested in their digital systems in recent years are more agile during this crisis. Bankia was ahead of the curve early on with the very solid systems it put in place, and the bank has now decided to further invest in their investment management capabilities with the implementation of Avaloq’s on-premises solution. The fact that both companies were able to kick off a complex project like this during these challenging times demonstrates their resilience and stability. The combined teams are working remotely to bring this project to fruition, and this successful collaboration is the best evidence that projects and businesses can continue to prosper with the right digital tools and systems.

Bankia has gained very strong momentum in the competitive Spanish wealth management market. In its 2019 results², the bank stated that it had become the leader for new net mutual fund inflows (EUR1.54bn), with around a million unitholders, following Bankia’s ability to attract more than 100,000 new clients last year. In addition, more than half (53%) of its clients are classified as “digital”, with 36% of total sales in 2019 through digital channels, exceeding the target Bankia had set in its strategic plan.

Avaloq has been selected to help Bankia capitalize on its market proposition and accelerate its wealth ambitions across all client segments, including traditional private and retail banking clients – which Bankia anticipates can be better served with holistic data analytics and more personalized service capabilities. Bankia’s three-year strategic plan involves the bank increasing assets under management from mass affluent clients, complemented with new investment management and advisory products. Bankia is the fifth bank with operations in Spain to become an Avaloq client after Banco Alcalá, Banque Pictet & Cie, Banque privée Edmond de Rothschild and Julius Bär. Yet it is the first Spanish bank among the company’s client base.

Ignacio Ezquiaga Dominguez, Corporate Director of Asset Management and Private Banking at Bankia, said: “Our decision to appoint Avaloq to provide on-premises solutions is a big step forward in our digital-led growth journey and our aspiration to be the leading provider of wealth management services in Spain. The nature of financial services is changing, and changing fast, and it is apparent that only the most digitally robust institutions will be able to compete and grow in this new environment.”

Uwe Krakau, General Manager and Regional Head for EMEA at Avaloq, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Bankia, one of Spain’s leading financial institutions, has chosen Avaloq’s powerful solution to accelerate its wealth ambitions for all client segments. As a company, we believe in turning the democratization of wealth management into a practical reality by helping our clients deliver cost efficient and user-led experiences to all their customers, and we greatly look forward to leveraging our expertise to support Bankia’s growth ambitions in an increasingly competitive investment management market.”

¹ https://www.bankia.com/en/who-we-are/about-us/factsheet/

² https://www.bankia.com/en/communication/news/bankia-posts-attributable-profit-541-million-euros-2019-best-commercial-year-history.html