-Official Bank of the Liga de Futbol Profesional and the NBA;BBVA Unveils Strategic Agreements with

The BBVA Group officially presented the strategic agreement with the NBA today, making it the 'Official Bank' of the global basketball league.

The agreement, signed in September, comes on top of BBVA's sponsorship of the Liga de Futbol Profesional (Spain's professional soccer league, known as the 'LFP'), which was recently extended to 2013. These two partnerships cement BBVA's status as the 'Sports Bank.' The association and collaboration between BBVA, the NBA and the LFP will raise the profile of all three brands in the U.S., Spain, and Puerto Rico, leveraging events, promotions, media, grassroots programs, and community service initiatives to reach fans and consumers around the world through sports.

The official presentation of BBVA's partnership with the NBA coincided with the game to be played tonight at Barcelona's Palau Sant Jordi between the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and last season's Euroleague winner Regal FC Barcelona.

During the ceremony, Angel Cano, the BBVA president and COO, reiterated the Bank's decisive and strategic commitment to participating actively with Liga BBVA and the NBA, emphasizing the importance of soccer and basketball to fans all around the world: 'More people in world play soccer and basketball than any other sport and the Liga BBVA and the NBA are among the top two leagues in their respective sports. This is why BBVA is, unquestionably, the 'Sports Bank.'

This strategic alliance makes BBVA the Official Bank of the NBA in Spain, the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

'Both the NBA and the Liga BBVA are the stuff dreams are made of; kids all over the world who play basketball or soccer want to play in them. And making it in these sports depends only on these kids' talent and hard work, and not on their economic status, as all they need to get a game going anywhere in the world is a ball,' Mr. Cano said.

Adam Silver, NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO, said 'BBVA is a leading financial institution with a successful history of reaching fans and consumers around the world through sports. We look forward to working together over the course of our partnership on a variety of basketball-themed programs that will celebrate our game and engage NBA fans globally.'

BBVA's partnership of the NBA extends to the NBA Cares program, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the NBA Development League (D-League).

BBVA will launch additional partnership activities in the U.S. to coincide with the tip off of the NBA regular season on October 26. The BBVA Group's U.S. franchise, BBVA Compass, will leverage its burgeoning network of more than 700 branches to carry out a variety of NBA-themed promotions tied to customer events and programs. It will also be featured prominently in the national broadcasting of NBA games on ABC, ESPN and TNT, as well on NBA TV and NBA.com.

Soccer sponsorships extended to 2013

During the event, BBVA announced the renewal of its sponsorship of the LFP in Spain until 2013. Jose Luis Astiazaran, president of the Professional Soccer League, explained that in the coming years China and the Asian market would be cornerstones of the league's growth strategy: 'We are already working with BBVA to expand our reach in Asia. There will be new developments over the coming months. In the meantime, we are very optimistic about our prospects in this market.'

About the NBA

The NBA, founded in 1946, is a professional sports league and global business that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2010-11 season, NBA games will reach 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages. Last season, NBA rosters featured 79 international players from 35 countries and territories. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. NBA.com averages more than 26 million page views per day, with more than 50 percent of the site's visitors coming from outside of North America. Through NBA Cares, the league, its teams and players have donated than 5 million to charity, completed more than 1.4 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 525 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.

About the LFP

The LFP is the institution which, since 1984, encompasses the clubs and sports companies that participate in the first and second divisions of the Spanish professional soccer league. For the last three seasons, BBVA has sponsored both divisions, known as the Liga BBVA and Liga adelante, respectively. It is currently the strongest soccer competition around. League matches are broadcast in 170 countries. The LFP hosts two of the world's best teams (Real Madrid and Barcelona), the world's top two players (Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo) and most of the Spanish team that won the World Cup in South Africa last summer.

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