In December 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a tax overhaul that sought to cut corporate and individual income taxes and stimulate the economy. As part of the tax package, the standard deduction was increased across all tax brackets and rules for mortgage interest deductions changed.

The start of sweet summertime means that the school year for most kids in the United States is drawing to a close. If you’re a parent, you may be thinking about how to say thanks to a special teacher that has been meaningful in your own child’s life. The good news is that there are myriad ways to recognize teachers for the effort, caring and education they’ve provided throughout the school year.

BBVA Compass recently announced the launch of the digital BBVA Compass Express Personal Loan to customers and prospects across its footprint.* The timing of the announcement was auspicious given that it was released nearly one year after the date from when the bank booked its first ever end-to-end digital loan. Now, just over a year later, the bank has achieved a record for one-week consumer loan production, with online originations officially exceeding branch production in that same week.

The global head of Customer Solutions (CS) closed BBVA Colombia’s quarterly planning meeting in an ‘All Hands’ session with 300 participants representing all areas of the bank. The message is clear: the transformation is accelerating.

Rewarding, simple and secure. All apt descriptors of the new BBVA Compass Rewards Card, the newest credit card offering from the U.S. subsidiary of the global financial services group BBVA. Available today, the new credit card offers rewards to customers for every purchase they make, with no cap on earnings, and boasts an easy to understand rewards structure that earns 1.5 percent in rewards for every $1 spent across all categories, and the ability to garner 2 percent in rewards with a qualifying bank relationship.

For Kevin Cox, the adage ‘time is money’ was never more true than when he applied for the BBVA Compass Express Personal Loan.

The Locust Fork, Ala. resident was the bank’s first digital customer for the personal loan product, starting and completing his journey from application to funding in fewer than 13 hours. According to Cox, when it comes to his financial life, ease and convenience are everything, and the BBVA Compass Express Personal Loan fit the bill precisely.

On the surface, personal loans and payday loans may sound similar, and in some instances, payday loans – with fast funding – may even sound like a better option, but play close attention, because they are decidedly not the same thing. Read on.

When it comes to obtaining credit, there are many different types of loans for many different uses, from buying a home to paying for education and remodeling. When it comes to the way those loans are repaid, two of the most common are installment and revolving.

Let’s take a look at the fundamental differences of each.

According to a study from Spectrem Group’s Market Insights Report 2017, there are just 10.8 million millionaires in the United States. Assuming you’re not one of them – and let’s face it, most of us aren’t – there are certain purchases that require a loan. Loans for these purchases – houses and cars among them – most often take the form of an installment loan, which begs the question: What exactly is an installment loan?

BBVA Compass, the U.S. subsidiary of the global financial services group BBVA, now offers near instantaneous decisioning and potential same day funding for both customers and non-customers with the footprint wide(1) opening of the fully digital BBVA Compass Express Personal Loan.

With the Express Personal Loan, customers and prospects can consolidate debt or fund large purchases with a low-interest personal loan that provides near instantaneous decisioning. Applicants with a BBVA Compass checking account can get same day funding upon loan approval. The loan, which represents months of effort across the entirety of the bank, underscores BBVA Compass’ drive to digital transformation and achieving excellence in customer experience.

The headlines about the U.S. dollar this year have underscored how complicated it is to predict the movement of any one currency in a global economy. They’ve gone from grim (“Dollar set for worst January in 30 years”) to triumphant (“Dollar claws back”) to deflated (“Dollar’s rebound fizzles”) in a matter of weeks.

The Winter Olympics have been in full swing for over a week while athletes have been racking up the medals in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

On the road to home ownership, it can feel like every turn includes another unexpected charge or fee, with one of the final being closing costs.

‘Closing costs’ is an umbrella term that encompasses various fees collected by those who perform all the final tasks that ultimately allow a home buyer to sign on the dotted line of their mortgage loan. The fees, which typically range from 3 to 5 percent of the cost of the home, include various charges like appraisal,  underwriting and recording fees, among other charges. According to BBVA Compass Director of Real Estate Originations Jose Pascual, the number and total amount of fees can vary.

Let’s talk Private Mortgage Insurance, or as it’s more commonly known, “PMI.”

If you’re buying a house and in the process of obtaining a home loan, chances are good you’ve at least heard the term. Chances are even better you’re acutely aware of PMI if you’re planning a down payment of less than 20 percent, because PMI is the premium you’ll have to pay to insure the lender against loan default.

Since landing in the United States in 2004, BBVA has heralded the impending arrival of banking’s digital revolution, even as it boldly proclaimed that it would lead the industry as it transformed.

Just 14 years later, the proclamations have come true, and recently reported numbers show the bank’s own transformation in countries around the globe is proceeding as planned. The bank’s subsidiary in the U.S. – BBVA Compass – is playing an increasingly outsize role in that transformation, with digital at the forefront of its own strategy for profitable growth.

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.

When it comes to how much home you can afford, the answer is not always as cut and dried as the pre-qualification you receive from your lender, says BBVA Compass Director of Real Estate Originations Jose Pascual.

Pascual says that lenders do their best with what they’re given in order to pre-qualify customers for an affordable amount, but there are considerations outside their purview that borrowers should also consider.

BBVA was recently chosen by Global Finance as the best private bank in Latin America, a distinction granted by the magazine in its “World’s Best Private Banks 2018” awards.

Deciding to buy a home ranks among the biggest decisions a person can make, which is why it’s wise to go into the process with eyes wide open to your unique financial situation. Doing so will help ensure that before pen hits paper on the loan application, the approval that will get you the house of your dreams is in the proverbial bag.

There are a few steps anyone looking to get a home loan – aka mortgage – can take before application in order to be sure that they are best positioned for approval.

According to a recent Bankrate.com survey, just four in ten people indicated they were able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense without going into debt to do so.

For these people, a savings plan is the obvious answer, but for the many Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck, even the smallest savings can feel out of reach. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Below are five tips to help you get started saving today.

Around seven years ago, in the wake of recently enacted regulatory changes, the availability of free checking accounts started a slow descent into oblivion as banks grappled with how to adjust business models.

Fast forward to today, and banks are still grappling with the issue, as evidenced by a recent bank’s announcement that it would be eliminating its free checking account and moving customers into an account charging a $12 monthly fee  – unless the customer maintains a direct deposit of $250 or more, or a minimum daily balance of $1,500

BBVA Compass was an official supporter of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s championship parade this past Saturday, Jan. 20, helping the school celebrate its College Football Playoff National Championship.

Alternative finance keeps gaining traction in Europe and Spain is no exception. By volume of activity —and excluding the UK— Spain ranks fifth in the European Union for the fourth consecutive year in this segment, behind France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. In 2016, Spain’s alternative finance sector grew by 162%, to €131 million.

As of today, EU banks are required to comply with the new relevant regulatory framework on markets and financial institutions, based on the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, (MiFID II), and its corresponding regulation, MiFIR.

Global Finance magazine has chosen BBVA as the best private bank in Latin America in its “World’s Best Private Banks 2018” awards. Among its attributes, the magazine said, are the Group’s “high technology credentials”.

BBVA backed Atom Bank has been named as one of the world’s top ten fintech firms for the third time in a row.

Madrid hosted last week the Service Design Global Conference (SDGC17), a leading event in the world of service design that pays special attention to how this discipline is changing the world of banking. BBVA took part in one of the sessions to explain how design is, without a doubt, a key element in the success of its financial products and in satisfying customer needs at a time of great challenges for banking.

BBVA Compass was recognized as a leader in the most critical category in Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2017 Mobile Banking Scorecard, with the independent research firm commending the bank’s app for its ease of use in creating an intuitive, mobile-first experience for its clients.

It´s been a year filled with intense activity: more than 800 startups from 72 countries competed for the first prize in the ninth edition of the BBVA Open Talent competition. The winner was Change, an Israeli artificial intelligence startup that received its prize  – and the accompanying 50,000 euros – at the BBVA Open Summit last week in Madrid.

In the United States, there are already $20 billion under management by robot advisors and for the moment, the numbers testify to the success. Improving their knowledge of the investor could turn robo-advisors into a financial tool of the first order.

Lines of credit and loans are two different financial products that allow users to borrow money. However, they have differences which should be taken into account when choosing one or the other.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the average family will spend nearly $700 on the return to school this year, contributing to the nation’s projected back-to-school spending total of $29.5 billion — the second highest figure on record and an 8 percent increase from last year. Although consumer confidence seems to be on the rise, BBVA Compass realizes that budget and convenience were probably still two core subjects in a parent’s back-to-school shopping curriculum this year.

BBVA Compass announced Tuesday that it will offer payment-deferral programs for flood victims in Texas as well as a robust suite of discounted loans and lines of credit to help the families and businesses affected by Hurricane Harvey rebuild their lives.

BBVA Compass is making the limited-time offers — among them special loan and payment deferral programs, waived late fees and penalty-free CD withdrawals — available to consumer and small business clients in the 58 counties declared a state of disaster by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. For the time being, it also is waiving all ATM fees in those areas: Its own customers will pay no fees to BBVA Compass if they use non-BBVA Compass ATMs, and non-customers will be able to use BBVA Compass ATMs at no charge from BBVA Compass.

Digital financial services are within everyone´s reach, but each generation has its own peculiarities when using them. Mobile banking apps have won over the centennials, while social networks influence Generation Y when it comes to changing banks, and Generation X confides in online banking. The baby boomers, meanwhile, prefer to take a stroll to the branch office.

The BBVA app, recognized by Forrester Research as the best in the world, has helped strengthen digital adoption, since it offers the largest number of functionalities for carrying out transactions.

The Financial Times’ The Banker magazine has awarded BBVA Data & Analytics with their Technology Project of the Year award in the category of Risk Management.

Entrepreneurs seeking to launch or expand their enterprise may experience big success for their small business when it’s built with a set of prime financial tools. According to BBVA Compass Director of Small Business Product Solutions Lance Gibson, while needs differ from business to business, there are some financial tools that are essential when it comes to starting or growing a small business.

Consumer debt in the U.S. continues to be pervasive some seven years after 2008’s economic downturn. If you count yourself as one of those still struggling, take heart. With a dose of discipline and self control, you could potentially loosen debt’s vice grip on your life.

Credit cards and credit card offers are as ubiquitous as coffee shops in Seattle. With so many to choose from, how do you decide what’s right for you and your unique financial situation?

Consumer lending provides financing for personal, family, or household purposes. The loans can come from a variety of places, including financial institutions or lending platforms, like the aforementioned Prosper and Lending Club.

Since its inception in 2009, the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking app has been nationally recognized for its functionality and user experience, adding a series of awards to its wall of digital achievements and achieving milestones that have raised the mobile banking standard.

Analyzing someone’s solvency based on what they do on social networks is already boosting access to credit in emerging economies. In developed countries, it helps financial institutions better determine to whom they lend money.

The European Union has finished the first half of its match to create a common capital market among the 27 EU member states. But there’s still a second half ahead, with obstacles such as how to continue the project without the United Kingdom.

BBVA is one of the 40 institutions that invested in the financial technology innovator R3, which just completed two of three tranches in its Series A fundraising round. It raised a total of 107 million. With this investment, BBVA seeks to reinforce its commitment to R3, the largest consortium of global financial institutions collaborating to develop an industry platform and commercial applications for DLT.

Latin America is not very keen on, or good at saving, says a new publication by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The solution would be to promote financial education and build a culture based on improving saving habits among Latin Americans.

BBVA offers the best mobile banking services in Europe, according to the recent Forrester Research report, “European Mobile Banking Benchmark” (EMBB), which analyzes the apps of 11 retail banks in Europe. BBVA’s Turkish bank Garanti was ranked fourth in the 2017 edition of the EMBB.

Rating agencies are private institutions whose main function is to assess the credit risk of a company or financial product through a series of ratings. These assessments are often used in capital markets as benchmarks for investment decisions.

The European Commission is currently seeking to answer this and many other questions that citizens have posed about retail financial services. In 2015, the Commission launched a public consultation that is set out in a document containing requests from citizens, presented by the European Parliament at the close of 2016. The next step was the publication of the Consumer Financial Services Action Plan: Better Products, More Choice, with specific proposals for eliminating the barriers to retail banking in Europe.

BBVA Compass ClearSpend Visa, the bank’s prepaid debit card, was recently awarded with a 2016 Visa DPS Client Achievement Award for Highest Portfolio Growth – Prepaid, Consumer Reloadable.

The European Commission’s Fintech Task Force held its first conference in Brussels. BBVA was the only incumbent bank invited to the meeting where the Group’s contribution to promoting digital financial services was recognized.