BBVA Compass won the Celent Model Bank award on Wednesday for its core banking transformation, lauded in the business press as a “game changer” when it debuted last fall, said the bank in a statement.
The bank’s technology upgrade marks one of the first successful core infrastructure replacements for a major U.S. bank in more than a decade. Celent honored the achievement with its award, which recognizes the use of technology that has a clear and sustainable impact on business, improves sales, reduces risk, improves processes and performance, or meets market demands. Previous award winners include Citibank, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Umpqua Bank.
“The implementation of our new core system was a huge milestone for us,” said Manolo Sanchez , BBVA Compass president and CEO. “By introducing this powerful and flexible technology, we’re able to increase our focus on the rapidly changing needs of our customers and provide them with more personalized and innovative services.”
The new system powers BBVA Compass’ checking and savings, consumer and business lending, and mortgage capabilities – and is fully integrated with its branch and ATM networks, call centers and online and mobile banking services. The $362 million project cut the time it takes to open a new deposit account to as little as five minutes from more than 40, and reduced time to market for new products by up to 75 percent.
The system also allows the bank to support its first wholly digital banking product: NBA Banking, which launched this month and is maintained entirely online. It allows BBVA Compass to expand beyond its Sunbelt footprint and capitalize on its role as the official bank of the NBA in the U.S.
The new core platform is now being used in the bank’s more than 700 branches in seven states. The system is based upon Alnova Financial Solutions, Accenture’s core banking software platform. Accenture also helped BBVA Compass implement the platform.
BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, is the largest financial institution in Mexico, and has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt region of the United States. Its diversified business is geared toward high-growth markets and relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. BBVA ranks among the leading eurozone banks in terms of return on equity and efficiency. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies best practices. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at www.bbva.com.
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 708 branches, including 367 in Texas, 93 in Alabama, 79 in Arizona, 65 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 21 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 20 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading Small Business Administration lenders and ranked third in American Banker’s 2012 reputation study of the leading 30 banks in the U.S.
Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com.