BBVA Compass welcomes Andrea Smith back to Birmingham as market CEO

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA Compass is welcoming Andrea Smith back to Birmingham as the market CEO of its headquarters city after she spent three successful years leading the bank's efforts in San Antonio, one of the bank's key markets.

Smith, who returns to Birmingham from her position as San Antonio market CEO, has more than 21 years' experience in the financial industry, in roles of increasing seniority and importance. Before San Antonio, she spent 12 years as a senior commercial banker in Birmingham, focused on governmental and institutional lending to nonprofits, universities and municipalities. She also has experience in health care, commercial and industrial lending.

"We couldn't be more excited to bring Andrea back to Birmingham, our headquarters market and the city that boasts more employees than any other city in our footprint," said BBVA Compass East Region Executive Lee Smith. "She established herself as a true leader during her twelve years for us in Birmingham, which is why we sent her to San Antonio in 2013 to head up our efforts there. She quickly became an integral part of that community, so I know they'll miss her, but we're excited to have her back in Birmingham doing great things."

Before joining BBVA Compass, Smith spent six years in community banking at Lamar Bank and Pike County National Bank in Mississippi.

She is active in the community, having served on the New Program Funding Task Force with the United Way of Bexar County, the board of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the board of the YMCA San Antonio. While in Birmingham, she was president of the board for the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, and was a board member for the YMCA and the Railroad Park Foundation in Birmingham.

Smith earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi. In addition, she completed the BBVA Compass UT School of Management program and the BBVA Corporate Management Program in Madrid, Spain. She is also a class of 2012 graduate of Leadership Birmingham.

About BBVA Group
BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA BBVA BBVA. BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The BBVA Group is the largest financial institution in Spain and Mexico, has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt region of the United States and is also the leading shareholder in Garanti, Turkey's largest bank based on market capitalization. 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 best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 674 branches, including 345 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 75 in Arizona, 62 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 20 in New Mexico, and commercial and private client offices throughout the U.S. 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 (4th). BBVA Compass was recently named Best Digital Bank in North America by global finance magazine Euromoney, and earned top nods for best mobile app and best regional bank in the South & West in Money magazine's annual list of the Best Banks in America. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at bbvacompass.com, by following @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visiting newsroom.bbvacompass.com. 

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

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SOURCE BBVA Compass