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Global bank announces new Houston hub for powering energy transition projects

The new Houston office is part of BBVA’s corporate and investment banking unit in the U.S. and will partner with global BBVA cleantech finance teams. Photo via bbva.com

Spanish financial services company BBVA Group has created a hub in Houston for financing energy transition projects in the U.S.

BBVA made the announcement at the first-ever Houston Energy & Climate Week, which the bank sponsored.

“The United States has a unique opportunity to lead the global transition to a more sustainable economy. Our office in Houston, the energy transition capital of the world, will be a key component of our sustainability strategy, complementing and integrated with our New York operations,” Alvaro Aguilar, BBVA’s head of strategic projects in the U.S., says in a news release.

The new Houston office is part of BBVA’s corporate and investment banking unit in the U.S. The local hub will partner with BBVA cleantech finance teams in New York City, London, and Madrid.

“We aim to make sustainability a driver of growth, support decarbonization projects, and position BBVA as the leading player in sustainable finance in the United States,” says Javier Rodríguez Soler, BBVA’s global head of sustainability.

BBVA’s U.S. sustainability strategy supports energy companies and those that promote renewable energy, including wind and solar, as well as emerging cleantech options, such as energy storage systems, hydrogen, and carbon capture. It also covers sectors like electric vehicles and energy efficiency.

As of June 2024, BBVA had amassed $279 billion in sustainability business toward its 2025 goal of $332 billion.

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A View From HETI

Blackstone Infrastructure, an affiliate of Blackstone Inc., will acquire a major Texas electricity provider. Photo via Shutterstock

Blackstone Infrastructure, an investment giant with $600 million in assets under management, has agreed to buy publicly traded TXNM Energy in a debt-and-stock deal valued at $11.5 billion.

TXNM Energy is the parent company of Lewisville-based Texas New Mexico Power (TNMP), which supplies electricity to more than 270,000 homes and businesses throughout Texas. Its Houston-area service territory includes Alvin, Angleton, Brazoria, Dickinson, Friendswood, La Marque, League City, Sweeny, Texas City and West Columbia.

Once Blackstone Infrastructure wraps up the deal in the second half of 2026, Albuquerque, New Mexico-based TXNM will no longer be a public company. But TNMP’s headquarters will remain in Texas and its rates will continue to be set by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. TNMP was founded in 1934.

Blackstone Infrastructure is affiliated with investment powerhouse Blackstone Inc., which has $1.2 trillion in assets under management and is the world’s largest investment manager.

“TNMP has done an excellent job of meeting its customers’ growing demand for electricity and supporting the communities it serves,” Sean Klimczak, Blackstone’s global head of infrastructure, said in a news release. “We look forward to utilizing our long-term investment commitments to support TNMP as they continue on this path of high-demand growth across Texas.”

During TXNM’s fourth-quarter earnings call in February, Chairwoman and CEO Patricia Vincent-Collawn said the company’s five-year Texas capital investment plan had grown by more than $1 billion.

“Our future is so bright with these increased investment levels that we are now targeting earnings growth of 7 percent to 9 percent through 2029,” Vincent-Collawn said.

“Our financial expectations are driven by the continued expansion of grid infrastructure supporting growth and reliability in our Texas service territory,” she added.

In 2024, TXNM reported revenue of $1.96 billion, up 1.7 percent from the previous year.

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