T.E.A.M. Initiative Debuts April 12 in Los Angeles at the Hilton
Universal City with Spotlight on Latina Business Owners
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
California
Bank & Trust (CB&T) announced a new business financing
initiative focused on minority and women-owned businesses in California
at the LATINA Style Business Series on April 12, 2012. The bank’s new TEAM
initiative launches with a focus on Latina-owned businesses,
although it also encompasses all minority-owned businesses in
California. California Bank & Trust will debut TEAM, which represents
“Tools, Education, Access and Mentoring,” in affiliation with Latina
Style, Inc. and the Anna Maria Arias Foundation. This foundation
works to ensure the growth, reach and impact of Latina entrepreneurs by
providing programs, services and resources that help Latinas establish
successful businesses.
Betty Rengifo Uribe: Executive Vice President, California Bank & Trust (Photo: Business Wire)
The TEAM initiative strengthens California Bank & Trust’s longstanding
commitment to identify the unique economic needs of the communities
served by the bank and to focus on meeting the needs of businesses
through community-specific lending initiatives. California Bank & Trust
also provides local decision-making, closer to the customer, which means
that the bank understands the customer better and can respond faster.
The TEAM initiative launched April 12 with a new website
featuring videos, information and useful tools to help small business
owners.
“TEAM is a comprehensive approach designed to address the issues faced
by many minority and women business owners, especially access to
financing,” says Betty Rengifo Uribe, California Bank & Trust Executive
Vice President. “California Bank & Trust and Latina Style are working
together toward a goal of helping Latina entrepreneurs gain access to
the financing they need for their businesses to succeed; this mission
directly addresses the greatest challenge for Latina business owners.
With our network of highly experienced, professional bankers, we can
provide expert guidance to minority and women business owners, giving
them the help they need to grow, thrive and become a valuable part of
their communities.”
“The most significant obstacle for growth for Latina entrepreneurs is
the lack of adequate capitalization. For 14 years the Latina Style
Business Series has been serving the Latina entrepreneur by providing
the most successful business development program in the nation. Access
to capital though has continued to be a challenge,” says Robert E. Bard,
president & CEO of Latina Style, Inc. “We are ecstatic that California
Bank & Trust has decided to make access to capital to minority-owned
businesses a priority and this will surely benefit the Latina
entrepreneur, California and our country. We look forward to our
association with CB&T to produce incredible results.”
According to the latest U.S. Census data, Latina-owned businesses are
the fastest growing segment of small businesses in the country and
Latinas control 30 percent of the 1.4 million companies owned by
minority women in the United States. Additionally, Hispanic-owned
businesses in the U.S. increased by 43.7 percent to 2.3 million from
2002 to 2007, more than twice the overall national rate. In California,
nearly 30 percent of all small businesses are women-owned, while nearly
15 percent are Latino-owned, according to the Small Business
Administration. Differentiating her from other bankers, Ms. Uribe has
owned and managed three businesses in Southern California and one in
South America, and has employed an entrepreneurial vision in her
work-life.
Norma Vega, Senior Advocacy and Consultant of Ibarra Strategy
Group (ISG) co-chaired the Business Series with Uribe. Prior to her work
with ISG, Norma served as Executive Director of the Office of the Census
2010 in the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Norma
developed a citywide educational and community outreach campaign that
resulted in the highest Census mail participation of any comparable city.
About California Bank & Trust
California Bank & Trust, a subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:
ZION), is one of the largest banks headquartered in California with over
$10 billion in assets and more than 100 branches statewide. CB&T
provides a full array of financial solutions for businesses and
individuals, including commercial lending, small business lending, SBA
financing, cash management, international banking and wealth management.
The professional bankers at CB&T are backed by major resources, yet
maintain local decision-making authority and regional market and
industry expertise. They are committed to providing clients with
valuable business and economic insights and to connecting them with the
beneficial business relationships they need to succeed. To learn more,
visit www.calbanktrust.com
or call (800) 400-6080.
Media Please Note:
To schedule an interview with Betty Rengifo Uribe, or to request
high-resolution photography
or video, please contact Tarah Beaven at Landis Communications,
Inc.: (415-359-2306; tarah@landispr.com)
or Patricia Perez at VPE Public Relations (626-403-3200 X214; patricia@vpepr.com).
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50241010&lang=en
Media Contacts
Landis Communications, Inc.
Tarah
Beaven, (415) 359- 2306
tarah@landispr.com
or
VPE
PR
Patricia Perez, (626) 403-3200 X214
patricia@vpepr.com
Source: California Bank & Trust