CEO Texas Border & Gulf Coast, BBVA

“One Team, Client First” 

Total immersion – that’s exactly the way to learn something quickly. After receiving his degree in finance, Jon Rebello plunged right in when he accepted his first job at a start-up bank in Los Angeles.

“I was only the third employee, and they hired me as a credit analyst,” Rebello, CEO for the Texas Border & Gulf Coast of BBVA, began. “When you get to start at the ground level of something new, it’s a unique experience. You get to wear a lot of hats. I was with that bank for three years and I loved it. It’s where I got my PhD in banking,” he said. 

The native Bostonian, whose family history stretches back to the Pilgrims, became acquainted with Mr. Roney, at the time Chairman and CEO of Texas State Bank, and jumped at the opportunity to come to the Valley and join Roney’s team.

“I saw his vision of what he was trying to build here at the bank and was very impressed with what he had accomplished,” Rebello said. 

Staying on board when BBVA bought the bank, Rebello first became CEO of the Texas Border Region five years ago and added the Gulf Coast area two years ago.

“As the fourth largest bank in Texas, we have a lot of good markets and a good customer base,” he said. “Our model is to make sure the decision makers who are there in those markets understand those markets and are close to the clients in order to have a quick decision turn around.”

Rebello is passionate about banking and BBVA, but his favorite part of the job is watching people.

“We built our bank on helping small businesses and it continues to be the most important thing we do,” he said. “Small business is the backbone of the economy in all of our communities. It’s amazing to see the ingenuity of people and their capitalistic, entrepreneurial spirits.

I really enjoy visiting local companies when I go to our different markets. That’s what I like the most – to tour around Texas and see the various innovative ways that people build their businesses. We have clients who do all kinds of things. To see entrepreneurial people in their elements is just incredible!”