Obama names L.A.'s Maria Contreras-Sweet to head SBA

President Barack Obama named Los Angeles businesswoman Maria Contreras-Sweet, the founder of a community bank and a former California Cabinet member, as his nominee to head the U.S. Small Business Administration.

"Maria knows how hard it is to get started on a business," Obama said Wednesday. "The grueling hours, the stress, the occasional self-doubt."

According to the Los Angeles Times, Contreras-Sweet founded Promerica, now called Proamerica Bank, which focuses on serving small and mid-sized businesses.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times.