Clyde Drexler and other legends tip off BBVA Compass and NBA Cares program

HOUSTON, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- NBA Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler and other NBA legends thrilled students at Houston's Crespo Elementary School Thursday when they helped tip off a joint initiative from BBVA Compass and NBA Cares to bring financial education programs to 25,000 students throughout the U.S. this year.

Drexler, the 10-time NBA All-Star who helped lead the Houston Rockets to the NBA Championship in 1995, joined NBA legends T.J. Ford, Elvin Hayes and John Lucas, along with bank volunteers, on visits to pre-K through third-grade classrooms at the school in the East End, where they talked to the students about the importance of staying in school. NBA Cares Ambassador and NBA legend Felipe Lopez introduced fourth-graders to the basics of money smarts, while the volunteers later taught fifth-grade students the basics of managing money through a trivia-style game.

"Clyde is a champion in every sense of the word — all of these guys are — so it's an honor to be out here with them teaching the importance of education, fitness and money management," said BBVA Compass Houston City President Mark Montgomery. "Crespo is a fine arts magnet school and the kids are bursting with talent, so it was nice to be able to fully engage them in something we consider so important. They're our future leaders."

The event marked this year's debut of the bank's annual effort to bring the Vault financial education program, developed by education technology firm EverFi, into schools across the BBVA Compass footprint at no cost to the schools or school districts. The course features interactive lessons, games and story-based activities that challenge children from an early age to make choices in real-life scenarios to best achieve important goals around saving and job planning.

BBVA Compass and NBA Cares presented EverFi's web-based financial literacy program to more than 10,000 students in seven cities in 2013, and are doubling its reach this year by extending the online curriculum to 25,000 students in approximately 400 schools across 19 markets.

BBVA Compass and NBA Cares have been working together since 2010, and have previously held events in schools in Birmingham, Ala., Dallas, Denver, Houston, Phoenix and San Antonio, among others.

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 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.

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

SOURCE BBVA Compass