BBVA Compass supports Feeding America and 22 of its network food banks in holiday initiative. (PRNewsFoto/BBVA Compass)

/PRNewswire/ - BBVA Compass announced a corporate holiday initiative which supports Feeding America and 22 of its network food banks. As part of the initiative, BBVA Compass and its employees will provide monetary donations of over $150,000 in the weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday. During this time, BBVA Compass employees have also pledged to volunteer their time at network food banks across the bank's Sunbelt footprint. Finally, for each BBVA Compass holiday card shared via email and social media sites Twitter and Facebook, the bank will donate one meal to Feeding America, with the overarching goal to feed a million hungry individuals this holiday season.

"The challenging economy has made it especially important during this holiday season to remember those individuals and families that rely on their local food bank," said Manolo Sanchez, BBVA U.S. country manager and president and CEO of BBVA Compass. "As a financial institution whose vision is to work for a better future for people, we strongly believe in supporting those organizations which help to sustain and strengthen the local communities that we serve. This is just one of the reasons why BBVA Compass and its employees are so proud to support Feeding America and its member food banks."

According to the Feeding America website (www.feedingamerica.org), the Feeding America system serves an estimated 37 million different people annually, including 14 million children and nearly 3 million seniors. The Feeding America network of more than 200 food banks serves all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, securing and distributing more than 2.5 billion pounds of food and grocery products annually. Those member food banks support approximately 61,000 local charitable agencies and 70,000 programs, which provide food directly to individuals and families in need.

The contributions from BBVA Compass will support the following food banks in Feeding America's network:

ALABAMA
United Way Community Food Bank, Birmingham
Food Bank of North Alabama, Huntsville/Decatur
Bay Area Food Bank, Mobile
Montgomery Area Food Bank, Montgomery

ARIZONA
Desert Mission Food Bank, Phoenix
St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, Phoenix
Community Food Bank Inc., Tucson

CALIFORNIA
Second Harvest Food Bank, Riverside
Second Harvest Food Bank, Stockton

COLORADO
Food Bank of the Rockies, Denver

FLORIDA
Second Harvest Food Bank of North Florida, Jacksonville

NEW MEXICO
Roadrunner Food Bank, Albuquerque

TEXAS
Capital Area Food Bank of Texas Inc., Austin
Southeast Texas Food Bank, Beaumont
Food Bank of Corpus Christi Inc., Corpus Christi
West Texas Food Bank, El Paso
North Texas Food Bank, Dallas/Fort Worth
Houston Food Bank, Houston
South Texas Food Bank, Laredo
South Plains Food Bank, Lubbock
Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley Inc., McAllen
San Antonio Food Bank, San Antonio

BBVA Compass invites the public to join us in our Mission to Feed a Million by sharing the BBVA Compass annual holiday card. Simply visit www.bbvacompass.com/feedamillion. From this site, interested participants can either email the card to friends and family members or share via Facebook or Twitter.

ABOUT BBVA COMPASS

BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates more than 717 branches including 382 in Texas, 92 in Alabama, 65 in California, 77 in Arizona, 45 in Florida, 36 in Colorado and 20 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass is the 15th largest U.S. commercial bank based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Texas (4th), Alabama (3rd) and Arizona (5th). For the second consecutive year, BBVA Compass was named as a "Lender of the Year" by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Additional information concerning BBVA Compass can be found on our website www.bbvacompass.com.

BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of Compass Bancshares, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a financial services group with approximately $760 billion in total assets, 48 million clients, 7,400 branches and approximately 105,000 employees in more than 30 countries. BBVA ranks among the top 20 largest financial institutions in the world based on market capitalization and 21st in Global Finance magazine's list of the "World's 50 Safest Banks" for 2010. 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, 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. Compass Bank, member FDIC.

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