With only two branches in the Fresno/Clovis area, the failure last August of Guaranty Bank didn't make much of a ripple in the Valley.

Federal deposit insurance meant customers didn't lose their money as Spanish-based BBVA Compass took over operations at Guaranty's 59 California branches. The branches continued to operate under Guaranty's logo, and the local branches continue to be listed on Guaranty's Web site, not BBVA Compass'.

That will change on Friday, when the old Guaranty signs come down and the new BBVA Compass signs go up. In fact, at the Fresno branch at Palm and Shaw avenues, the Guaranty sign (above, right) has already been changed into a bag that only needs to be taken off Friday to unveil the new sign (example at left).

It's a bit of a changeup from prior bank transitions we've seen locally. When Merced-based County Bank went belly up last year, Westamerica Bank wasted little time changing signage over on the branches. JPMorgan Chase moved swiftly when it acquired the assets of failed Washington Mutual.

But BBVA Compass opted to hold off, taking time with its conversion to get through year-end financial statements and making sure it had all its ducks in a row before charging ahead with a change in the branding of its new branches -- particularly in California, where BBVA Compass is a new and unfamiliar name.

Compass Bancshares, the Alabama-based subsidiary of BBVA Group, has about 750 branches across the South and Southwest. More than half of its branches are in Texas.

The Spanish-based parent company operates in 30 countries around the world with about 7,600 branches, and the largest proportion of its business comes from Spain and Portugal. The U.S. market accounts for about 7% of its operating income.