BBVA USA goes virtual with financial education

HOUSTON, July 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA USA continues its strong push to provide financial education opportunities in the communities it serves, despite the continuing challenge of pandemic related stay-at-home orders in many areas.

While the bank's financial education workshops have traditionally been held in person, its Responsible Business team has shifted quickly to leverage digital solutions to provide the same curriculum through virtual workshops led by BBVA volunteer subject-matter experts. Since the transition to virtual workshops in April, the program has reached more than 2,000 participants.

"We have always incorporated technology into our workshops, using iPads and computers in our financial education workshops across our footprint," said Tony Moraga, Manager of Social Impact. "Because we already had the curriculum for our 13 topics on a digital platform, it was relatively simple for us to adapt the workshops to a remote setting."

The biggest task in converting to a virtual program was training nonprofit partners and employee volunteers on the platform, which was specifically designed to work best on a mobile device or smartphone. This mobile-first approach was critical to allow as many community members as possible to participate in the virtual workshops, according to Moraga. "We know that not everyone has access to a computer at home, so we wanted to be sure the workshops were available on tablets and smartphones, as well."

Remote classes are taught on an online meeting platform, which allows participants to interact with the instructor, ask questions and participate in real-time surveys and interactive exercises. In addition to the 13 financial topics covered by BBVA's current curriculum, two new modules, Mobile Banking and Debt Management, are in development and slated to be available in late July.

"As part of our vision of creating opportunities for everyone, BBVA remains dedicated to improving the lives and financial well-being of the people in our communities, and financial education is a key part of that," said Rey Ocañas, Director of Communications and Responsible Business. "During these difficult times, it's never been more important for people to understand and control their personal finances, and we will continue to find creative ways to help them do that."

In 2019, BBVA provided more than 800 adult financial education workshops on personal finance, small business and home ownership, reaching more than 12,000 participants. To date in 2020, volunteer instructors have led more than 250 workshops providing financial education to more than 4,000 participants through in-person (pre-COVID-19) and virtual (post-COVID-19) workshops.

Financial education heads the list of the bank's guiding pillars in its new 5-year global strategic plan, specifically focused on helping clients improve their financial health as a means to subsequently improve society's overall health. According to Ocañas, the elevation of this focus makes sense for customers, business and society as a whole.

For more BBVA news visit, www.bbva.com and the U.S. Newsroom.

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For more financial information about BBVA in the U.S., visit bbvausa.investorroom.com.

About BBVA

BBVA Group
BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a strong leadership position in the Spanish market, is the largest financial institution in Mexico, it has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States. It is also the leading shareholder in Turkey's Garanti BBVA. Its purpose is to bring the age of opportunities to everyone, based on our customers' real needs: provide the best solutions, helping them make the best financial decisions, through an easy and convenient experience. The institution rests in solid values: Customer comes first, we think big and we are one team. Its responsible banking model aspires to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable society.

BBVA USA
In the U.S., BBVA is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 641 branches, including 330 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 63 in Arizona, 61 in California, 44 in Florida, 37 in Colorado and 17 in New Mexico. The bank 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 (6th). In the U.S., BBVA has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and ranked 8th nationally in terms of dollar volume of SBA loans originated in fiscal year 2018.

SOURCE BBVA USA