Whether you’ve just finished school and are beginning your career, or you’re taking inventory of your current career path, it’s important to take steps to take control and direct the course of that path.

Based on a quick online search, you might think building a professional brand is a simple three-step process involving social media of some kind. The fact is, a professional brand is nothing more than a good, old-fashioned reputation. And whether you deliberately created it or not, you already have one.

The clock is ticking down until professional basketball is played in Birmingham, Ala. for the first time in 12 years. With every big event comes a story – and the BBVA Compass Iron City Showdown is no exception.

When BBVA Compass, in tandem with the Colonnade Group and Summit Media, announced the BBVA Compass Iron City Showdown, a pro basketball exhibition game between the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies to be played in Birmingham, Ala., it emphasized that the game would also focus on community involvement.

In case you hadn’t heard, pro basketball is coming to the city of Birmingham, Ala. for the first time in 12 years, an opportunity created by BBVA Compass and announced officially on May 3 at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. The game, to be played on October 2, will be showcased at the BJCC, with family-friendly and community-related events leading up to the big day. With the game only 75 days away, check out a list of things you should know about leading up to tip-off.

Top news and articles from BBVA Compass in June reflected the bank’s commitment to being a digital leader and engine of opportunity for customers, small businesses and communities throughout its footprint. The bank also positioned itself as a financial education resource, publishing a series of informational articles on homeownership.

BBVA Compass‘ record quarterly earnings for the first quarter of 2018 was top news on bbva.com for the month of April. Other leading news in April and May reflected the bank’s commitment to small businesses, financial education, and being an engine of opportunity locally and within its communities. The bank also published a series of articles that spotlighted its culture, employees and digital transformation.

Innovation in communications is becoming increasingly important and necessary. BBVA’s ‘own voice’ project through BBVA.com has been shortlisted by ‘Digiday Media Awards Europe’ as one of the best new websites displaying an impressive performance in terms of editorial approach, quality and growth. These awards seek to pay tribute to companies working to modernize and improving media in Europe.

When Frances Guthrie started at Compass Bank in 1964, no one had to explain to her what “one team” meant. “We only had 11 people,” she said. “And that was counting the mail carrier.” That was just one of the memories shared by Guthrie and about 30 other retired former team members at the inaugural BBVA Compass Alumni Community Luncheon in Birmingham, Ala. last month.

In her ongoing signature advice column called “Dear Rosilyn,” BBVA Compass Chief Talent & Culture Executive Rosilyn Houston answers career-related questions from the bank’s team members. In her latest edition, she helps shed light on BBVA Compass’ culture and how the bank’s employees help shape it.

With the recent evolution in the realm of HR technology, there has been a rise in the number of organizations leveraging data and using it to obtain insights that drive their decision-making process. This data-driven perspective leads to a remarkable shift in the role of HR, advancing its function from reactive to proactive; from tactical to strategic. In a recent HR Tech Outlook feature, BBVA Compass Director of People Analytics Morgan Turnipseed shared knowledge on how workforce analytics is becoming an integral business component at the bank.

BBVA Compass continues to create opportunities for its clients, consumers and communities throughout its footprint, focusing on impactful hyper-local initiatives. Published on the bank’s global news platform, bbva.com, the articles below highlight BBVA Compass’ commitment to being an engine of opportunity within the communities it serves, and a bank with a mission of providing insights and services that help position its clients and consumers for a bright financial future.

BBVA Compass today announced it will extend and expand its brand ambassador agreement with May 2018 Texas Longhorn graduate and rising country music singer Tyler Dial. The senior at the McCombs School of Business just finished recording the first EP for his second album project, this time recording in Nashville, Tenn. with new industry veterans by his side for production, instrumentation, background vocals and more.

BBVA Compass’s brand mission of creating opportunities came to life in 2017 with multiple initiatives, including a super start to the year, a summer filled with giving, and a special event for Birmingham high school students.

Around this time last year, BBVA Compass was gearing up to help the city of Houston host professional football’s biggest game. What resulted was a bevy of activities, including charitable giving, delicious client dinners, and an initiative to help with traffic congestion.

From part time teller to BBVA Compass small-medium enterprise commercial banking West Region officer, Dinuk Perera built his career on determination. In this edition of Employee Spotlight, Perera puts the phrase, “chase your dreams”, into perspective and shares his inspirational story of creating opportunities to succeed.

In December, BBVA Compass published a series of articles that captured its brand promise of “creating opportunities,” honing in on efforts and investments that will positively impact underserved communities throughout the bank’s footprint. The bank also positioned itself as an engine of opportunity for people, highlighting its commitment to helping customers digitally and through an array of financial services.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants organisation and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) have established the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship, which will provide unique opportunities for aspiring chefs from all around the world.

Fans of both Boca Juniors and River Plate, Argentina´s premier soccer teams, can see the BBVA Francés logo on the jerseys of their favorite players. Music lovers, meanwhile, will find the bank sponsors tours by stars of yesterday and today, from Iron Maiden to Katy Perry.

In November, BBVA Compass published a series of articles that underscored its efforts of being an inclusive and digital bank committed to the customers, clients and communities throughout its footprint. Top articles of the month were centered around a recognition for the award-winning BBVA Compass Mobile Banking app; the bank’s recent achievement from the Human Rights Campaign; dinners held for the bank’s Denver clients; and the bank’s new agreement with entertainment presenter, AEG.

BBVA Compass has agreed to a multiyear agreement with the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company AEG to create opportunities for customers across the country, including events, concerts and brand activations at some of AEG’s key venues. The deal names BBVA Compass the exclusive banking partner across Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, Ogden Theatre (both in Denver, Colorado), and Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie (Texas).

Last month, BBVA Compass showcased its digital prowess with headline stories about BBVA Open Talent, its 2017 online banking award from Javelin Strategy & Research, and Tuyyo, BBVA’s new money transfer mobile app. The bank also published articles that highlighted it as an engine of opportunity for its employees and the communities throughout its footprint. The bank wrapped up its month of stories on Oct. 27, releasing its third quarter earnings.

Houston’s East Downtown area will be inundated with the color orange Thursday night, as the Houston Dynamo gear up for their knockout round playoff game at BBVA Compass Stadium.

When BBVA Compass starts with a purpose, it immerses itself into it, as evidenced by the plethora of campaigns, events and other initiatives the bank leverages to create opportunities and bright futures.

Music, an indispensable connecting thread for telling stories. Excitement, a fundamental element when starting a new project. The responsibility for producing a job well done. These are the three pieces of a new puzzle that BBVA is putting together. Do you want to know more?

June 5 is World Environment Day, a UN initiative to raise awareness about the need to take care of the planet. BBVA will illuminate some of its most emblematic buildings in green as a gesture to signify its commitment to this cause.

“The path is made by walking,” said the great poet Antonio Machado. In the case of BBVA, the path has more than 160 years of history, starting with the bank´s foundation and today, it has reached a turning point. The new BBVA is a global financial group leading the transformation of the banking industry worldwide, putting all the new opportunities within everyone´s reach.

Brands are hiring influencers to reach out the masses. Companies are paying dizzying sums of money for a picture. They say the investment is worth it. However, trusting communications to people outside an organization entails risks.

Following the urgent measures adopted by Franco’s government to expedite the reconstruction of the economy, the Ministry of Finance redoubled its efforts to strengthen its grip over the banking sector.  On the last day of 1946, a new banking law was passed, outlining the new scenario in which institutions would be required to operate during the next decade.

As Franco’s government endeavored to rebuild the economy of country in shambles, companies started focusing on their own efforts to lay the foundations of their businesses in a new market, marked by much tighter government control and the impossibility of engaging in any sort of foreign commercial activity. As for banks, they faced the daunting task of putting back together the two realities into which the sector had been split during the war.

On January 10th, BBVA launched a new tagline – Creating opportunities. It was a necessary step to reflect the changes underway at the bank – a transformation BBVA began more than 10 years ago that more than anything, benefits customers.  In just two words, this new tagline summarizes the bank’s new purpose: “To bring the age of opportunity to everyone.”

Success in sales almost always comes down to communication. And in the competitive ecommerce universe, content marketing is the best way to engage with those browsing through the store.

Success in sales almost always comes down to communication. And in the competitive ecommerce universe, content marketing is the best way to engage with those browsing through the store.

The early 1920s were overshadowed by the defeat of the Spanish army in Morocco in 1921. The battle that would become known as the “Disaster of Annual” represented the loss of Spain’s dominions in the neighboring African country, and the fallout from the military debacle led to harsh criticism of the political regime, the military establishment and even the King himself.

Civil wars, banks that went almost as fast as they came, the brand-new issuing monopoly of the Bank of Spain, unrest in Spanish overseas territories… the later years of the 19th century sure did look challenging for institutions such as Banco de Bilbao. Although the bank had earned a solid footing in its home city, Spain’s situation at that time made it hard to tell how it would fare in the short and medium term.

This article is the first of a series that will focus on BBVA’s long history. Over a number of chapters, bbva.com wants to recap some of the highlights of the bank’s almost 160 years of activity, thanks to which it has become one of the most renowned institutions throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

Fundamental transformations are underway in the banking and financial industries as a result of the unstoppable technological innovation they face. Demand for digital products and services is on the rise and consumers are adopting them, with greater and greater ease. This significant change in customer habits and in the use of business channels has numerous implications for banks, especially regarding the need to attract people with strong technical skills.

Brand or corporate journalism is a recent concept that BBVA has turned into a reality at bbva.com. The Group’s global website is also the new channel for BBVA’s contents, to ensure that the company’s voice, purpose and messages can be heard by its key stakeholders without intermediaries.

BBVA Compass Chief Marketing & Digital Sales Officer Jennifer Dominiquini earned international recognition as a driving force in the social media space, receiving the Corporate Social Media Leader of The Year Award in July from the Incite Group.