Michelle Lok works as a Social Media Specialist at BBVA United States. She puts the same strength and determination into her training that she brings to bear at work every day. This BBVA Ambassador thinks big 24/7.

With less than a month to go until the highly-anticipated BBVA Compass Iron City Showdown, the city of Birmingham is on the verge of hosting its first professional basketball game in more than a decade.

It has been a busy first half of the year for BBVA Compass, which has seen multiple milestones, including a recently-reported year-over-year increase in second quarter earnings.

Garanti Bank, official sponsor of Turkish basketball for more than 17 years, has launched an advertising campaign to support the Turkish national basketball teams, facing the wheelchair basketball world championships that will take place in Hamburg (Germany) from August 16 to 26.

Spain is the team that controls midfield, Russia attacks the most, while Brazil surprisingly is the most defensive. According to big data, such are the styles of play of the soccer teams currently facing off in the hopes of winning the tournament.

The Colonnade Group and Faush Summit Entertainment today unveiled Iron City Hoop-A-Palooza, a 3 on 3 basketball tournament that will welcome basketball fans o fall ages and skill levels to Birmingham this summer. The tournament is just one in a series of events and opportunities created to celebrate the NBA’s return to Birmingham via the BBVA Compass Iron City Showdown.

It has now been one week since the BBVA Compass Iron City Showdown’s details were announced, including who would face the Houston Rockets in the preseason game to be held in Birmingham on October 2 (Memphis Grizzlies).

The Houston Dash kick started their 2018 season at BBVA Compass Stadium on Sunday, March 25, marking the beginning of their fifth season in existence.

BBVA Compass started strong out of the gate in their brand support of multiple initiatives in January, including a meal made for Hollywood, the continuation of a football dynasty and a slam dunk of a branch visit.

The Houston Dynamo’s playoff run last season captured Houston soccer fans’ hearts and attention. That momentum has carried over to the team’s 2018 campaign, in both quality of play and fan enthusiasm.

For the second year in a row, BBVA Compass teamed up with Miami Dolphins Foundation to co-sponsor the Dolphins Cancer Challenge – the annual cycling event that raises funds for cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami.

It started as a seemingly impossible challenge that only became more daunting along the way. Four coworkers from CIB, hanging from one of the most mythical mountains for climbers in Spain, exhausted and nearly frozen. Three of them had never climbed before. The easiest way out was to turn around, but they didn’t quit.

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.

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.

Creating Opportunities is BBVA Compass’ mission and brand promise. The person tasked with leading the team that brings that brand to life through multiple channels was honored this past week by the marketing leadership community organization, The CMO Club.

Exercising and staying in shape are now easier than ever, thanks to technology. Smartphones, tablets and wearables have burst onto the exercise scene, offering numerous fitness benefits. And millennials and athletes in general have taken note.

BBVA Compass and the Houston Dynamo wrapped up their joint campaign to raise money for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts with a series of community events that ended when the Dynamo took the pitch at BBVA Compass Stadium for the Ninth Annual BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup.

Argentine soccer star Leo Messi came to the rescue of his county’s team just when it needed him the most, ensuring it a place in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Messi overcame a rough start in the qualifying match against Ecuador, with a hat trick that gave Argentina a 1-3 victory .

In other qualifying matches, Paraguay was defeated by Venezuela, while Chile was eliminated after its defeat by Brazil. Peru and Colombia were tied 1-1; as a result, the Peruvians will move on to face New Zealand in the playoffs. Uruguay, meanwhile, assured itself a place in the World Cup with a 4-2 victory over Bolivia.

Unfortunately, a virus kept me from playing how I would have liked at the WTA Premier tournament in Beijing this week. It’s one of the top tournaments in the women’s circuit and where the most points are given out, after the four Grand Slam tournaments. I was feeling sick for several days after leaving Wuhan. I wasn’t able to practice and even though I tried, the fever kept me from playing as well as I would have liked.

In 2001, Turkey hosted Men’s European Basketball Championship which was a significant breakthrough in turkish basketball. The same year was also important for Garanti as of being the new partner of Turkish Basketball Federation. Garanti created a huge marketing campaign for the national team with the name ’12 Giant Men’ which became the team’s official name which is still being used today by not just Garanti itself but also by the federation, press and the whole country.

Spanish tennis star Garbiñe Muguruza has achieved one of her lifelong dreams: she has become the top-ranked tennis player in the world.  The title became hers after Karolina Plisková of the Czech Republic was defeated by CoCo Vandewehe of the United States (7-6 (4) y 6-3) in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Sept 6. Garbiñe will be officially crowned the world’s number one tennis player when the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) publishes its updated ranking on Sept. 11.

I have now had three very good weeks on the tour that will finish next week at the US Open. I decided to play in Stanford despite its coming so soon after Wimbledon and I did not regret it. Things went very well and my victory in Cincinnati is the result of all the work I have done this season, which is bearing fruit.

BBVA Compass brand ambassador James Harden of the Houston Rockets landed in Birmingham Thursday to help make a surprise announcement at Parker High School: the bank will bring a preseason game to Birmingham, between the Rockets and an as-yet-unnamed team in 2018, for the first time in more than a decade.

BBVA Compass’ brand ambassador James Harden is at it again, bringing opportunities for a bright future for aspiring basketball players, holding a camp of over 650 kids at the Legend Sports Complex in The Woodlands, Texas the weekend of July 22.

The life of a tennis player can be quite hectic. And that’s one thing that is both good and bad about it. When you’re struggling, you know that in just one week’s time, you’ll get another chance to pick yourself up. When things are going your way, you hardly have time to stop and celebrate.  But this time, I did want to savor every moment, because otherwise, it all slips by so quickly.

Athletes’ sporting achievements boost their social media profiles. The more relevant their victories, the more their followings grow. This is exactly what happened to Garbiñe Muguruza right after conquering her first Wimbledon Grand Slam; she’s become the most popular top-five tennis player on Instagram.

Aaron Jones waited patiently for his name to be called, his bright future about to be solidified.

Small Places LLC was announced as the winner of the second installment of “The Pitch” from BBVA Compass and the Houston Dynamo on June 13, awarding the organization the grand prize of $10,000, and business consulting from BBVA Compass and Dynamo executives.

The Phoenix Mercury and BBVA Compass have officially announced Backpacks 4 Kids AZ, Inc. as the winner of the second annual “Bright Futures Women in Business” promotion, an initiative designed to support women-owned businesses and create opportunity for a brighter future throughout the Valley.

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.

In a report entitled The Future of Football, Futurizon predicts that in the future, sports events will be broadcast using tiny drones capable of hovering a few inches above the playing field, swirling around spectators or chasing the ball in the air. Except for referees, players and coaches, ordinary spectators have always enjoyed these events from architectural points of view:  the stands or the sides of the pitch. And, even if we don’t realize it yet, narratives have also depended on these points of view. What would happen if the perspective changed? Would it be possible to televise a match exactly as the referee sees it? Would that be of any interest at all? Or telling what an embedded drone observes?

Small Places LLC has won the second installment of “The Pitch” from BBVA Compass and the Houston Dynamo, the club and the bank announced today.

Many people might be OK with coming in second, but not the BBVA women’s basketball team in Spain. Last year, they lost the tournament final. This year, victory was the only option.

On May 1, BBVA Compass, through its Bright Futures initiative, and the Houston Dynamo kicked off Small Business Month by launching the second installment of “The Pitch.”  Small businesses and start-ups were encouraged to submit a business plan describing why they have a bright future in their industry.

BBVA Compass Fort Worth CEO Brian Happel was once quoted in the New York Times discussing his hope to earn an early roster spot on a professional football team in 1982.

For nearly a decade, Karen Loya of BBVA Bancomer thought her toughest rival had beaten her. However, three years ago, she realized that she still had a chance to win. That’s when she discovered who her true opponent was.

I fell in love with Paris a long time ago. It was the spring of 2013 when I went to Roland Garros for the first time. Having grown up playing on clay courts in my hometown of Caracas and then later in Barcelona, this love was only natural. It’s true that I play more aggressively than a typical clay court player due to the way I’m built, but there’s no denying that clay courts make me feel at home.

BBVA Compass Stadium has seen hundreds of thousands of moments – unique moments that have made the stadium a special place for soccer aficionados and concert enthusiasts alike.

BBVA Compass and Kealia Ohai came to terms on a new deal last week to officially appoint the Houston Dash forward as the bank’s newest brand ambassador.

On Friday, May 12 when the Houston Dynamo host Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 8 p.m., a special milestone will take place: BBVA Compass Stadium will celebrate its five-year anniversary. The stadium officially opened its doors on May 12, 2012 for a Dynamo home game against D.C. United.

BBVA Compass has once again partnered with the Houston Dynamo to host the second-annual “The Pitch” small business competition, as part of National Small Business Month.

BBVA Compass and NBA Legends TJ Ford and Robert Horry tipped off an NBA Cares event on Thursday to inspire and teach financial literacy to local students at Houston’s John F. Kennedy Elementary School.

We’re now back in Europe and have arrived just in time for the start of spring. One advantage of being a professional tennis player is that you spend practically the whole year in places with good weather.  It’s a real treat!

As BBVA Compass Stadium gears up for its five year anniversary, the Houston Dash opened up their season at the venue on a high note, with a 2-0 victory over the visiting Chicago Red Stars.

In 2006, the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer moved from San Jose, Calif., to the fourth largest city in the U.S., sending a ripple effect that would result in BBVA Compass Stadium.

It’s hard to believe we’re already in Miami. It’s all happening too quickly… We left Indian Wells and arrived on Friday and yesterday I had my first contact with Miami’s courts.

Not long ago, Mercedes Gatti of BBVA Uruguay wouldn’t have been able to finish a race of any length, let alone a 5K. However, when the bank started a running club, she had the opportunity to participate in one of the toughest and most beautiful races in the world: the Crossing of the Andes. She discovered that everything works better as ‘One team’.

BBVA Compass, through its Bright Futures platform, and the Houston Rockets have partnered to launch the Bright Advantage contest for local small businesses.

The University of Alabama and its rich gridiron history has dominated college football headlines in the past decade, winning four national championships, producing two Heisman Trophy winners, and sending 18 first round draft picks to professional football’s most prominent league since 2007.