BILBAO — BBVA is making significant strides in the realm of generative artificial intelligence (AI) by identifying and training top talent within the organization. The bank recently hosted a DataRally competition that drew participation from 440 employees across its global network. This event tested their abilities to engage with large language models (LLMs), similar to those that power AI systems like ChatGPT, according to a press release published on EuropaWire.

The competition is part of BBVA’s broader initiative to harness the capabilities of generative AI in enhancing organizational processes and delivering superior value to customers, all while maintaining the highest security standards. To this end, BBVA has been actively launching exploratory projects to explore the practical applications of this technology in the banking sector.

During the DataRally, employees tackled a series of 12 challenges involving large language models. These tasks ranged from processing quantitative data to detecting anomalies in financial reports and assessing customer satisfaction levels from comments. Participants received immediate feedback, guiding them on the effective use of prompts and commands to navigate the challenges successfully.

Carlos Gutiérrez from the Global Talent & Culture area, Joel de la Cruz from the Advanced Analytics Engineering team in Spain, and Hans Hidalgo from Client Solutions in Peru were notable for their outstanding performance, achieving the highest scores by efficiently navigating the challenges with minimal prompts and in the shortest time.

Josep Amorós, Data Manager at BBVA and the organizer of the DataRally, shared his enthusiasm about the competition’s success, stating, “We couldn’t be happier with the response to the competition, which has been enthusiastic and led to healthy levels of competition.” He highlighted that 75 percent of participants were very satisfied with the experience, and more than 95 percent expressed interest in participating again.

Curro Maturana, Global Head of GenAI at BBVA, emphasized the transformative potential of generative AI, “Generative AI is here to stay, and it has enormous potential for businesses as they revolutionize their internal processes and embrace global development projects that will allow them to deploy their products and services simultaneously in different countries.”

Building on the success of the DataRally, BBVA plans to integrate generative AI courses into its Data University in-house training program. This move aims to extend the innovative learning dynamics of prompt engineering to more employees, equipping them with the skills needed to excel in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.