Branch prediction using a correlating event, such as an unconditional branch that calls a routine including the branch, instead of the branch itself, to predict the behavior of the branch. The circumstances in which the branch is employed, and not the actual branch itself, is used to predict how strongly taken or not taken the branch is to behave. An anchor point associated with the branch (e.g., an address of the instruction calling a routine that includes the branch), an address of the branch, and a value that represents the number of selected branch instructions between the anchor point and the branch are used to select information to be used to predict the direction of the branch.