BBVA Compass Works with Local High Schools to Teach Financial Education to Thousands of Students

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Nov. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of October's Get Smart About Credit Month, BBVA Compass employee volunteers educated high school students from across the bank's seven state footprint on the fundamentals of financial responsibility and how to successfully manage credit. The employee volunteers taught 150 financial education classes, reaching more than 5,000 juniors and seniors.

"As a financial institution whose vision is to work for a better future for people, we strongly believe in teaching young adults how to manage their finances at an early age," said Rey Ocanas, director of Corporate Responsibility and Reputation for BBVA Compass. "Programs such as Get Smart About Credit establish a foundation that will benefit them throughout their lives. We are proud of our employees for recognizing this and taking time out of their day to teach students these valuable lessons on financial responsibility."

BBVA Compass employee volunteers taught students not only how to manage a credit card, but also the importance of good credit and how to read a credit report. They also emphasized how to protect personal financial information and recognize the signs of overspending, as well as the benefits of budgeting now to help avoid credit problems later.

"The need for credit education and the lack of school resources make volunteer efforts more important than ever," said Laura Fisher executive director of the ABA Education Foundation, which sponsors Get Smart About Credit. "We're proud to call BBVA Compass our partners as we work together to improve financial literacy nationwide."  

This is the bank's third consecutive year to support Get Smart About Credit initiative. In October last year, BBVA Compass employee volunteers across the footprint reached 2,000 high school students during Get Smart About Credit Month. This year, employee volunteers reached more than 5,000 students, an increase of 150 percent.

ABOUT BBVA COMPASS

BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates more than 712 branches including 374 in Texas, 93 in Alabama, 78 in Arizona, 65 in California, 45 in Florida, 36 in Colorado and 21 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the nation's leading Small Business Administration (SBA) lenders, earning 'Lender of the Year' honors in 2009 and 2010. Additional information concerning BBVA Compass can be found on our website www.bbvacompass.com.

BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a financial services group with approximately $800 billion in total assets, 48 million clients, 7,400 branches and approximately 110,000 employees in more than 30 countries. BBVA ranks among the top 20 largest financial institutions in the world based on market capitalization and 17th in Global Finance magazine's list of the "World's 50 Safest Banks" for 2011. BBVA provides its customers around the world with a full range of financial services, including commercial and wholesale banking, retail banking services, consumer loans, mortgages, credit cards, securities brokerage, wealth management, pension plan management and insurance. The BBVA Group maintains a leadership position in Spain, Mexico, Latin America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States, as well as operations in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at www.bbva.com.

Editor's Note:
BBVA Compass is a trade name of Compass Bank.

SOURCE BBVA Compass