Whether it’s your first home or your fourth, the whole mortgage process can be confusing and stressful… so many decisions to make, so much jargon to decipher, so many boxes to initial.

One simple word you may hear is “points”. It sounds like such a simple word, but do you really know what points are?  A point is technically one percent of your mortgage amount, or $1,000 for every $100,000 you finance.

Understanding money seems simple enough, right? You earn it, you owe it, you spend it. Simple. But studies show that people who take the time to learn and understand some basic financial information are better off now and more likely to achieve their short- and long-term financial goals in the future.

When you’ve found the perfect house and the seller has accepted your offer, waiting to complete the home loan closing process – which can take around 40 days – can feel torturous.

Anne-Joëlle Viguier-Galley is BBVA Compass’ Chief of Equity and Alternative Investments for the bank’s Global Wealth team. She also doubles as the Chief Investment Strategist for BBVA Wealth Solutions, Inc., the bank’s investment adviser affiliate. 

Money isn’t very valuable if you can’t spend it. And during disaster situations — from tornados to ice storms and everything in between — a power outage could leave you feeling penniless, without access to ATMs, online or mobile banking, or debit card transactions.

Instant credit? With the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App’s Payments & Transfers functionality, it’s possible. All you need is a BBVA Compass credit card and a BBVA Compass account. Here’s how it works.

In 2017, Bankrate released a survey showing that 44 million adults claim to have a side gig, or a second job in addition to their main source of income.

Getting paid to shop may sound like a dream, but Simple Cash Back rewards makes it a reality. Available through the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App, BBVA Wallet or Online Banking, the feature allows customers with a consumer BBVA Compass debit or credit card to earn cash back on purchases.

Mobile banking in 2018 contains a vast amount of components and resources, from real-time personal loans, starting your own account, and money transfers to other easy functions that fit perfectly with today’s on-the-go lifestyle.

There’s a feeling you get when you walk into a store for just one thing and walk out with a basketful of stuff and a lighter wallet, wondering what just happened.

BBVA Compass gives customers the ability to take control of their finances with its latest Mobile Banking App release which integrates BBVA Compass Financial Tools.

Once upon a time, not so long ago, sending money was a tedious, often time-consuming task. Now, with the advent of the smartphone and mobile banking apps, sending money doesn’t need to be time consuming or burdensome. With the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App sending money is easier than ever.

Updating the preferred contact information on file with your bank shouldn’t be a long, tedious or frustrating process that involves weaving your way through an automated phone system. With the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App, it’s not.

Each year around August a new round of freshman begin to descend on colleges across the country, armed with everything needed for their first shot at independence. Of all the tools in their arsenal, a checking account might be one of the most important.

At the bottom of every check you write and every check you cash or deposit, you’ll find a long string of numbers: nine digits, then a colon followed by eight more digits, one more colon and another four digits. But what do those 21 numbers really mean?

Deposit accounts, put simply, are bank accounts that allow money to be deposited and withdrawn by the account holder. The bank notes the balance of these accounts on its books as a liability, as it’s the amount the bank owes to the customer.

LOL. BRB. AFK. BTW. IMHO. Social media and texting have made this kind of alphabet soup ubiquitous. But what about FDIC?  You see those letters on nearly every bank branch and every bank website you visit. But what do those letters mean? What do they even stand for?

There are plenty of ways to move money these days – from paying bills to receiving payments to paying friends – and most of them are digital.

Stop fooling yourself: You’re not a calculator. No matter how calm and poised you think you are when making financial decisions, there is a factor you can’t do anything about: You’re human. However, banks such as BBVA can help you make the best decisions.

Unexpected life changes occur frequently, and with them come ripple effects that uncover even more twists and turns. The effects could be costly for your family – especially if you’re not around to help.

Everfi is a leading educational technology company that uses social games, videos, and animation among other tools to provide financial education to everyone, at any age, anywhere in the world.

Interest rate, risk diversification and fixed-income assets are some of the financial concepts that most people have to deal with at one point or other. Do we really know what we are talking about? According to the Financial Skills Survey carried out by the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), 46 percent of Spaniards rate their financial knowledge as “low” or “very low”. Only 8 percent say it is “high”.

Black Knight, Inc.’s latest Mortgage Monitor Report indicates that taken together, rising interest rates and home prices have affected housing affordability, resulting in a more than $100 increase in monthly payment on a 30-year mortgage used to purchase a median-priced U.S. home.

P2P, or peer-to-peer transactions, have become a popular way to complete small transactions – whether you’re paying a friend back for buying your movie ticket, or chipping in for a co-worker’s birthday cake. If you’re looking to protect yourself, that’s all they should be used for: small transactions.

In honor of the men and women who give of themselves to serve the public everyday, BBVA Compass has designated May Everyday Heroes month.

For many Americans, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, replete with BBQs, time with friends and family and the first foray into the pool. But, even as we set about celebrating the freedom we have, it’s incumbent on us to not forget those who gave their all in service to our country.

An eat-in kitchen. Open floor plan. Shiplap for days. For home remodeling show junkies, the inspiration for home renovation is never ending.

Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit are very similar financial tools, used by homeowners with a need for a quick source of funding.

When it comes to credit cards and rewards, not all are created equal, but once you know what’s right for you, rewards systems can be a nice source of extra income and perk

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.

A ‘teachable moment’ is a unique instant in which the opportunity presents itself to teach something to someone else who has had their attention captured by that something. These valuable learning opportunities in financial education lend themselves to teaching people to take informed decisions.

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.

BBVA today launched its new BBVA for Everyone app, available for both iOS and Android operating systems, which enables the blind and those with physical or mild mental disabilities to use the bank’s network of over 6,300 automatic teller machines (ATMs). This new tool will guide those with visual disabilities to the ATM of their choice and help them withdraw cash. BBVA is a pioneer in this type of mobile solutions, which complement the services already available for people with disabilities on the web and corporate apps.

A year ago BBVA launched a project that reflects its commitment to financial education: the Center for Financial Education and Capability, whose goal is to foster knowledge in the area of financial education and inclusion.

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 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.

Let’s face it. Saving money is not easy, especially when at every turn, it seems there are more wants that feel a lot like needs. It can be a hard fought battle.

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

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.

Owning a credit card in 2018 may become more lucrative, says BBVA Compass Head of Payments Jon Groch.

According to Groch, rewards – or more precisely, the proliferation of them – is one of the biggest trends for credit cards in 2018. Other trends, he says, underscore the same emphasis on the consumer, as well as strategies to differentiate and distinguish individual cards and credit card issuers from one another.

It’s called the ‘upgrade effect.’ A new version of your mobile comes out and, without realizing it, you become careless with your own phone. Is your subconscious crying out for that spectacular new model that’s already available in the stores?

BBVA offers its private banking clients access to the best art advisory service in the world, to help them develop their taste and passion within the most promising sectors of the art market. BBVA has partnered with The Fine Art Group, a global art and finance house, to provide its clients with an art advisory service. But, what does art advisory really entail?

Wim Mijs, CEO of the European Banking Federation and member of  Advisory Board for BBVA’s Center for Education and Financial Capability, has been working to promote financial education for many years now – first in the Netherlands and then throughout Europe. His efforts have been well received by the most important institutions in the finance industry and he’s building an ecosystem that breaks down barriers to foster knowledge.

María José Roa, a researcher at the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA), recently presented the results of her study, “The importance of financial capabilities: an empirical analysis in the Andean region,” which was carried out with the collaboration of CAF (the Development Bank of Latin America).

BBVA Global Wealth held the second edition of its Next Generations Madrid program, intended for second generations of Private Banking customers. The purpose of the program is to bring value to customers’ families, providing them with a specific educational experience.

The use of cash as method of payment has been declining in recent years, in favor of digital methods and credit cards. Last month we saw another example in the Hawkers sunglass brand, which will not be accepting cash payments in its new Madrid store.

Richard H. Thaler was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences by the Royal Swedish Academy, for his “contributions to behavioral economy”

It might seem like simple advice, but it’s advice people should follow if they’re dedicated to rebuilding their credit score, according to a BBVA Compass expert with over 20 years of experience under his belt:

BBVA Compass has appointed its former Chief Fiduciary Officer Donette Stubblefield as its new Houston Market Global Wealth Executive, where she will lead all Global Wealth operations in the market.