Compass Bancshares, Inc. today announced the retirement of D. Paul Jones, Jr., from his positions of Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President effective January 1, 2008. The company also announced that Garrett R. Hegel, Chief Financial Officer, has been named to succeed Jones as Chief Executive Officer and President of Compass Bancshares. Hegel will begin serving in his new capacities beginning on January 1, 2008.
Jones began his career in 1968 with the Birmingham law firm Balch & Bingham. While at Balch & Bingham, Jones served as the principal legal counsel for Compass until 1978 when he joined the company as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and as a member of its board of directors.
In 1991, after serving in various increased senior management capacities, Jones became only the second person to hold the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Compass. During his leadership, Compass’ assets increased from $5 billion to more than $42 billion, accompanied by solid earnings and dividend per share growth and the creation of significant shareholder value. Compass also expanded its geographic footprint, building highly desirable franchises in the states of Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Colorado and Arizona.
“Since our beginning in 1964, Compass has had a balanced emphasis on delivering consistently strong financial results while making sure it has the people, products, technology and business capabilities necessary to take care of its customers, employees, shareholders and the communities we serve,” said Jones. “Having played a significant part in building Compass into a leading Sunbelt-based franchise, combined with his financial acumen and proven leadership skills, Gary is well suited to lead Compass to new levels of growth and performance as part of the BBVA Group, a leading global financial services company.”
“Paul has provided the leadership necessary to allow Compass to enjoy financial success through a variety of economic environments. His track record of increased profitability while creating shareholder value is unmatched throughout the financial services industry,” said Hegel. “His vision and guidance also enabled Compass to transform itself into a well-diversified financial services company with strong market positions in some of the fastest growing regions of the U.S. I look forward to building upon the platform that Paul has established as we take advantage of the growth opportunities we see in the years ahead and the new opportunities afforded us as part of the BBVA Group.”
Hegel began his career in 1973 in the audit group of Ernst & Young. In 1974, he joined U.S. Bancorp (formerly First Bank System) where he held a variety of positions, the last being Senior Vice President of Finance where he was responsible for all activities related to financial accounting, management information, budgeting, taxes and risk management.
In 1990, Hegel joined Compass as Chief Financial Officer where he has been responsible for all activities related to strategic planning, investor relations, risk management, financial accounting, taxes, management information, budgeting, interest rate risk management and treasury. Hegel also has responsibility for Compass Financial Services division which includes managing the company’s business units related to credit and debit cards, indirect automobile lending, merchant processing, and mortgage services.
Active in the community, Hegel is a member of the boards of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Court Appointed Special Advocates and is a former board member of the Children’s Aide Society. Hegel also serves as a member of various professional organizations including the American Institute of Certified Accountants, Financial Executive Institute, Bank Administration Institute, and Regulatory Management Committee of the Financial Services Roundtable. Hegel is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater and is a certified public accountant.
Compass Bancshares, Inc. is a Sunbelt-based financial institution which operates 420 full-service banking centers including 166 in Texas, 90 in Alabama, 76 in Arizona, 44 in Florida, 33 in Colorado and 11 in New Mexico. Compass is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBV) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a financial services group with more than $698 billion in total assets, 44 million clients, 7,900 branches and approximately 111,000 employees in more than 30 countries. BBVA provides its customers around the world with a full range of financial services, including commercial and wholesale banking, retail banking services, consumer loans, mortgages, credit cards, securities brokerage, wealth management, pension plan management and insurance.
The BBVA Group maintains a leadership position in Spain, Mexico, Latin America and has started a growth and diversification strategy in the U.S. and Asia. When combined with BBVA’s three other U.S. banking companies, Compass will rank as the largest regional bank in the Sunbelt region and among the top 25 banks in the U.S. by total deposits.
Contacts:
Ed Bilek, Investor Relations, 205-297-3331
Web
Site: www.compassbank.com
