Educational program offers scholarships to Hispanic Realtors

In an effort to increase the number of minority real estate finance professionals in the industry, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America and Bank of America announced Oct. 3 a joint venture to train Hispanic real estate professionals through an education scholarship.

"MBA welcomes Bank of America as a partner in its Path to Diversity program," said Dan Thoms, MBA's vice president of education and business development. "The Path to Diversity program is designed to increase cultural diversity within the real estate finance industry. Through this program, minority employees are awarded School of Mortgage Banking scholarships to promote their professional growth and career development."

To further this cooperative goal, both organizations have formed an alliance with the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals to award a Path to Diversity scholarship to prospective Hispanic real estate finance professionals. Established as a nonprofit trade association in 1999, NAHREP represents Hispanic real estate professionals whose mission is to increase the future growth of Hispanic-American homeownership.

Bank of America supports this mission by sponsoring a SOMB scholarship to a Hispanic recipient. The chosen scholar will attend MBA's School of Mortgage Banking, a 4 1/2-day in-residence program founded in 1948. This introductory course emphasizes the interrelated roles of the departments within a residential mortgage banking firm and the relationships of the various institutions and agencies in the real estate finance industry.

"We are delighted to be able to partner with the MBA and NAHREP to provide this wonderful opportunity to a Hispanic real estate professional," said Gwendolyn G. Thomas, senior vice president, Bank of America Consumer Real Estate Multicultural Executive in Charlotte, North Carolina. "This is an opportunity for Bank of America to demonstrate its commitment to one of the fastest-growing groups in the country, leveraging our strength for the betterment of one of our critical strategic partners."

Bank of America has a history as a leader in developing products and services that meet the needs of the Hispanic community, including: SafeSend, a safe, trustworthy and convenient international remittance service to Mexico that allows Hispanic consumers to send money by phone or electronically to loved ones in Mexico 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without having to leave the comfort of their own homes; the first Spanish-language ATMs introduced by a commercial bank; and Spanish-language informational and educational materials, such as first-time homebuyers' guides and homebuyers' workshop kits.

Bank of America is one of the nation's leading providers of home financing. In 2002, Bank of America helped more than 800,000 customers achieve homeownership, save money by refinancing their mortgages or make needed home improvements or other important purchases with home-equity lines or loans.

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bank of America Consumer Real Estate employs more than 10,000 associates, 200 of which are Spanish-speaking mortgage specialists and more than 200 bilingual staff members in retail mortgage offices.

For more information about MBA's Path to Diversity program, visit the program's Web site at www.mbaa.org/pathtodiversity.