BBVA Teams Up With NBA On New Multiyear Agreement

NEW YORK and MADRID, Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The NBA and BBVA today announced a multiyear extension of their marketing partnership, cementing the global financial services group's role as Official Bank of the NBA, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the NBA Development League (NBA D-League).

To accompany the news of the agreement's extension, BBVA is debuting new NBA-themed advertising with its global ambassadors, Kevin Durant and James Harden. The spot, which reinforces the group's brand as a global, digital enterprise, was filmed in the U.S. and Spain. In it, the roof of the iconic BBVA Tower in the Spanish capital was transformed into a street court in September for Harden, who was in town competing for the USA Basketball Men's National Team. The rest was filmed in Oklahoma City with Durant. Named "The Blindfold," the spot evokes the lengths BBVA will go to as it transforms into a truly digital bank to help its clients achieve their financial goals, anytime, anywhere.

"The NBA has done a phenomenal job of growing its brand globally, in large part through innovative use of digital channels, and that's what BBVA is focused on doing," said Angel Cano, BBVA President and COO. "Partnering with an institution like the NBA allows us to tap into the league's passionate fans around the globe, extending our reach in meaningful ways."

"Since we began our partnership in 2010, BBVA has quickly achieved significant growth in its business among NBA fans in both the U.S. and abroad," said NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. "They've accomplished this by weaving into the fabric of the NBA — everything from NBA Banking, to the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, to working with us on important financial literacy programs through NBA Cares — and we look forward to creating even more programs that celebrate our game in the years to come."

BBVA's U.S. banking franchise, BBVA Compass, remains the Official Bank of the NBA in the U.S. and will maintain its role as title partner for the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, a popular exhibition game during NBA All-Star that pits some of the league's most talented first- and second-year players against each other.

During its time as a partner of the NBA, the bank has collaborated with the league on NBA-themed fan offerings, including NBA Banking, BBVA Compass' first all-digital checking and savings account. The account generated customers from the fan base of all 30 NBA teams and from each state in the continental U.S.

The news of the renewed partnership was announced today in San Antonio at Graebner Elementary School, where BBVA Compass and NBA Cares, the league's global social responsibility program, tipped off their annual campaign to promote financial literacy. Through the program, dubbed the BBVA Compass Future Builders Program, BBVA Compass and various NBA Legends will visit elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the U.S. to teach students the value of cultivating good financial habits at an early age.

"BBVA's vision is to work for a better future for people and we've been able to make a deep and, we hope, lasting impact through our partnership with NBA Cares," said BBVA Compass Chairman and CEO Manolo Sanchez. "Together, we've reached more than 50,000 students in the U.S. and have made a multimillion-dollar investment in schools through refurbishments, technology donations and financial education. And it's only just begun."

Internationally, BBVA will maintain its title partnership of the NBA Global Games in Turkey and Spain as well as its title partnership of the NBA 3X Spain, a grassroots 3-on-3 tournament that will visit six cities in Spain in 2015.

The bank is also a partner of the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and several teams in the WNBA and NBA D-League. It also recently signed Kawhi Leonard as a brand ambassador in San Antonio and Chandler Parsons as a brand ambassador in the Dallas market.

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women's National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence with offices in 13 markets worldwide, games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2013-14 season featured a record 92 international players from 39 countries and territories. NBA Digital's assets include NBA TV, which is available in 60 million U.S. homes, and NBA.com, which recorded 26.9 billion page views during the 2013-14 season, with more than half of all visitors originating from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with 700 million likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have donated more than $242 million to charity, completed more than 3 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 915 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.

About BBVA

BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, it is the largest financial institution in Mexico and it has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States. Its diversified business is focused on high-growth markets and it relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes.

About BBVA Compass

BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 673 branches, including 342 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 77 in Arizona, 62 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 20 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 leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration and recently earned the top ranking with customers in American Banker's 2014 annual reputation survey of the top 25 largest U.S. retail banks. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com, by following @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visiting newsroom.bbvacompass.com.

BBVA Compass is a trade name of Compass Bank, Member FDIC.

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SOURCE BBVA