Compass Bank to cut 10 percent of staff

Compass Bank said Friday it will cut 1,200 jobs, or about 10 percent of its staff, as part of an overall reorganization intended to streamline its U.S. operations.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based company said the job cuts will spread across all of its business units in six states. Compass said the workers who will lose their jobs will be notified within the next few days and will receive severance.

The cuts include management and non-managment positions.

The bank is the U.S. unit of Spain-based Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, which bought Compass for $9.6 billion in 2007. In November, Compass completed the integration of BBVA's four U.S. banks into a single organization.

State National Bank, Texas State Bank and LNB (formerly Laredo National Bank) were converted to units under the Compass name at that time. BBVA acquired each of the banks between 2005 and 2007.

The reorganization will also reduce the number of business units from four to three. Compass' former community banking division has been combined into its corporate banking division.

Commerce Bank Chairman Jose Maria Garcia Meyer said the changes are necessary to remain competitive amid the battered U.S. economy.

"While we continue to outperform our peers in many key performance measures, we realize we are not immune to economic and market conditions," he said in a statement. "Therefore, we believe generating operational efficiencies and reducing costs to be especially prudent for the future growth and long-term health of our strong, forward-thinking organization," he added.

American Depositary Shares of BBVA added 2 cents to close at $8.46.