• by Larissa Faw , October 30, 2014

Since 2010, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Spanish-based financial institution Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) have partnered together on several initiatives, including offering NBA Banking, BBVA Compass' first all-digital checking and savings account and working together on financial literacy programs to teach students the value of cultivating good financial habits at an early age.

Now, the NBA and BBVA are making it exclusive for the next several years. Under a reported $30 million a year multi-year extension, BBVA's U.S. banking franchise BBVA Compass is the Official Bank of the NBA, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the NBA Development League (NBA D-League).

In addition, BBVA will maintain its role as title partner for the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, and internationally, BBVA will maintain its title partnership of the NBA Global Games in Turkey and Spain as well as its title partnership of the NBA 3X Spain, a grassroots 3-on-3 tournament that will visit six cities in Spain in 2015.

The bank is also a partner of the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and several teams in the WNBA and NBA D-League. It also recently signed Kawhi Leonard as a brand ambassador in San Antonio and Chandler Parsons as a brand ambassador in the Dallas market.

Meanwhile, this partnership extends beyond title sponsorship. BBVA is debuting new NBA-themed advertising featuring its global ambassadors, Kevin Durant and James Harden. Both have represented the financial brand since 2013. These two friends and former teammates were a natural fit for a spot that is meant to portray how far BBVA will go to help its clients achieve their financial goals - anytime, anywhere, says BBVA executives. 

This spot - developed with creative agency DDB Madrid and produced by Company Garlic - transforms the roof of the iconic BBVA Tower in the Spain into a street court, as well as features Durant in Oklahoma City. Named "The Blindfold," the spot evokes the lengths BBVA will go to as it transforms into a truly digital bank to help its clients achieve their financial goals, anytime, anywhere. 

"BBVA's vision is to work for a better future for people and we've been able to make a deep and, we hope, lasting impact through our partnership with NBA Cares," said BBVA Compass Chairman and CEO Manolo Sanchez. "Together, we've reached more than 50,000 students in the U.S. and have made a multimillion-dollar investment in schools through refurbishments, technology donations and financial education. And it's only just begun."