Former President George W. Bush one of trio of heavyweights to headline BBVA Compass' series of economic forums

HOUSTON, April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Former President George W. Bush will offer his perspective on the U.S. economy to BBVA Compass clients this summer as he takes turns headlining the bank's economic forums with former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers and Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard.

Hubbard, the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Bush, will kick off the BBVA Compass Economic Forum in Houston this week and then speak again in Phoenix. Bush will speak in Dallas, while Summers will speak in Denver and Birmingham, Ala.

"These are people who were literally in the room when the economic policies that have shaped at least the past decade were being debated," said Rafael Bustillo, BBVA Compass' head of Commercial Banking. "We wanted to offer a unique experience to our clients, and build on some of the star power we attracted at our previous forums. We got a supernova with this trio."

The bank launched its popular economic forum series in late 2012, bringing Erskine Bowles, the White House chief of staff under former President Bill Clinton, to several U.S. cities to talk about the nation's budget deficit. The next year, the forums paired Bowles with former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson, his Republican co-chair on President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. The two deficit hawks talked to the bank's clients about their prescriptions for fixing the nation's debt problem.

BBVA Compass Chief Economist Nathaniel Karp and Alejandro Cuadrado, the head of Foreign Exchange Research for BBVA, the bank's parent company, will alternate speaking at the events as well. BBVA has developed a robust Economic Research team with expertise across several geographies and areas of study.

The BBVA Compass Economic Forums are an extension of the bank's efforts to team with individuals and organizations that can offer expertise to the bank's clients in a useful and sophisticated way. BBVA Compass also launched a partnership with Christie's auction house last year to bring art to its clients in a series of exclusive events.

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About BBVA Group 
BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, is the largest financial institution in Mexico and has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt region of the United States. Its diversified business is geared toward high-growth markets and 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 best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes. More information about BBVA Group can be found at www.bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 685 branches, including 350 in Texas, 90 in Alabama, 78 in Arizona, 64 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 was recently awarded the 2013 Celent Model Bank Award for its new core banking platform. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com, by following @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visiting newsroom.bbvacompass.com.

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

SOURCE BBVA Compass