BBVA Compass taps Houston Dynamo forward Giles Barnes as its newest brand ambassador

-- He joins bank to support joint initiatives with Dynamo, Dynamo Charities

-- The 26-year-old is the 2014 Dynamo MVP and led the club in scoring last season

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Mar 17, 2015, 09:00 ET

HOUSTON, March 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA Compass today announced Houston Dynamo forward and 2014 Dynamo MVP Giles Barnes as its newest brand ambassador.

Barnes, 26, will work with BBVA Compass, the Dynamo and the Houston Dash on several joint community initiatives, including home renovations and youth soccer clinics in the city's East End, as part of the Building a Better Houston campaign. The joint initiative kicked off in 2011 to help revitalize the neighborhood around BBVA Compass Stadium.

BBVA Compass today announced Houston Dynamo forward and 2014 Dynamo MVP Giles Barnes as its newest brand ambassador.

BBVA Compass corporate logo

"Giles brings an exceptional level of enthusiasm and passion to the game that resonates with fans and the Houston community," said Mark Montgomery, BBVA Compass CEO in Houston. "Those are exactly the qualities we were looking for in our newest brand ambassador."

Among other activities, Barnes will help promote the annual BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup to raise money to benefit the bank's "Business of Sports" program, which provides workforce readiness, financial education programs and scholarships to students through a partnership with Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas.

"I'm honored to work with BBVA Compass as a brand ambassador," Barnes said. "We worked together at a literacy event last year and I love their passion for charity in the Houston community. It is for me a perfect partner for charitable causes and I am excited to have the opportunity to work with this special brand!"

In 2014, Barnes capped his best season in Houston with four club awards: Most Valuable Player, Players' Player of the Year, Budweiser Golden Boot and Ironman of the Year. He scored six goals in the final nine games of the season to finish the year with 11 goals, a personal best in his three seasons with Houston. Barnes amassed the most minutes played by any field player last year, with 3,028 regular-season minutes. He led the club in scoring to capture his second straight Golden Boot award, joining retired Dynamo forward Brian Ching as the only players in club history with multiple scoring titles. The London native also set a Dynamo career-high with five assists.

Barnes succeeds the bank's previous roster of Dynamo brand ambassadors, including former Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall and Ching, managing director of the Houston Dash. Last year, BBVA Compass announced it is the official Jersey Partner of the Dash, the nation's newest professional women's soccer team.

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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 the best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at www.bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass

BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 672 branches, including 341 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 77 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 (5th). BBVA Compass earned the top ranking with customers in American Banker's 2014 annual reputation survey of the top 25 largest U.S. retail banks. It also has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration and in 2014 ranked 12th nationally in total SBA loan volume. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com, by following @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visiting newsroom.bbvacompass.com.