BBVA USA to donate $250K through its foundation, offers customer assistance in wake of Winter Storm Uri

HOUSTON, Feb. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As Texas deals with Winter Storm Uri and its ripple effects, BBVA USA has announced it will donate a total of $250,000 toward community relief efforts through the BBVA Foundation, and has begun offering customer assistance in the form of payment deferrals and fee waivers, among other items.

"This has been a challenging week for so many people across Texas, and we wanted to act quickly to help our customers and communities through various avenues," said BBVA USA President and CEO Javier Rodriguez Soler. "Uri was a devastating winter storm with widespread negative impact that has left many people cold, hungry, and scared. We're committed to working with multiple organizations to help people get the essentials they need to get back on their feet. We're also intently listening to the specific needs of our customers as they look for ways to alleviate financial stress during this crisis."

BBVA USA will continue to monitor the ongoing situation and its impact in the coming days and weeks in order to continue to respond appropriately to community and customer needs.

Community Commitment

As a first step in its response to the winter storm and its ongoing aftermath, BBVA USA is committing $250,000 from the BBVA Foundation to a select group of non-profit organizations working to address immediate needs. The Foundation will fast-track $125,000 in funding for area food banks across the state, including $50,000 to the Houston Food Bank, along with another $125,000 for immediate home repair needs.

Organizations receiving grants to help with home repairs include West Street Recovery in Houston and Affordable Homes of South Texas.

"We are working swiftly through nonprofit partner relationships across Texas to identify and fill immediate food shortages and help the most impacted members of our communities fix their homes and rebuild as quickly as possible," said BBVA USA Director of Communications and Responsible Business J. Reymundo Ocañas. "This is a rare and dire situation for many Texans, so we'll continue to work with these established partners to identify needs as the situation evolves and to deploy support as quickly as possible."

Additional organizations are currently being identified as the bank works to finalize its list of grant recipients.

Customer support

BBVA USA is offering special customer assistance to those affected by the winter storm whose primary residence is in Texas. Assistance is available through March 31 to existing bank customers, upon request, at BBVA USA branch locations or by phone. 

Assistance offered to consumers and small businesses includes:

• Penalty-free CD withdrawals*
• Refunds on certain ATM, overdraft and insufficient funds fees
• Payment deferrals on existing loans and credit cards
• Waived late fees on loans, credit cards

For payment deferral requests, customers can contact 844-222-3862. Customers can also contact consumer credit card services at 1-800-239-5175 and business credit card services at 1-800-316-0207.

The availability of some offers may differ from the March 31 date. Offers are based on eligibility and certain limits apply. Customers are encouraged to call or visit a branch for more information.

*Withdrawal penalty cannot be waived for withdrawals occurring within seven days of account opening.

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

Additional news updates can be found via Twitter and Instagram.

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

About BBVA 
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 637 branches, including 328 in Texas, 88 in Alabama, 63 in Arizona, 61 in California, 43 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 14th nationally in terms of dollar volume of SBA loans originated in fiscal year 2019.

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SOURCE BBVA USA