Despite governments' measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is facing an unprecedented challenge, with most economies, including the key countries where BBVA operates, entering a deep recession in 2020. We do not consider that BBVA's geographic diversification will help the bank withstand a substantial worsening of profitability and asset quality during this time, although our base-case expectation is that its capital will hold up. We are affirming the long- and short-term issuer credit ratings at 'A-/A-2'. The negative outlook reflects the possibility of meaningful deterioration of BBVA's financial profile amid heightened economic risks across the main countries where it operates. On April 29, 2020, S&P Global Ratings affirmed the 'A-/A-2' long- and short-term issuer credit ratings on Spanish
