Mrs. Velma Sanchez

Velma Sanchez, CITIBANK, F.S.B.

Velma Sanchez is the National Community Relations Regional Director, Vice President for CITIBANK F.S.B. in Los Angeles.Mrs. Sanchez has over 6 years experience in Community Relations and lending services.Mrs. Sanchez is currently responsible for the regional implementation and assessment of national partnerships and programs in the areas of financial education, affordable housing, home ownership, small business development and social investments in Southern California, Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico; responsible for overseeing and managing programs designed to enhance the Bank's image and create a positive business environment with public, clients, government regulators and employees.Mrs. Sanchez has held a number of Directorial management positions prior to working with CITIBANK.Mrs. Sanchez has worked with New Capital LLC, as the ssistant Director of Real Estate Development as well as Director of Home Ownership Programs where she conducted home ownership education workshops in Spanish and English as well as counseled and assessed families on ability to purchase homes, pre-qualified buyers and assisted families in completing loan applications, packaging to lenders and represented families in real estate transactions as a real estate sales licensee.

Mrs. Sanchez attended Southern California University where she obtained a certificate in Minority Real Estate Finance and Development

Velma Sanchez from Citibank (an SBA-certified lender) spoke of the importance of the Hispanic community's purchasing power, which no longer goes unnoticed by banks and other businesses.Sanchez described the various programs developed by Citibank, such as Citipro, which help individuals plan for success.

Citibank's Velma Sanchez spoke about financial options for small-business owners, stressing that "Planning for the long haul is the goal, but not at the expense of enjoying today.

Citibank's Velma Sanchez spoke about financial options for small-business owners, stressing that "Planning for the long haul is the goal, but not at the expense of enjoying today."She also noted the undeniable economic importance of Latina businesswomen, sharing the statistic that as of 2002, there are 470 million Latina-owned businesses nationwide that employ 198 million people and generate $29.4 billion in sales.

Sandra Sutton, district director of the U.S. Small Business Administration, spoke first, followed by Velma Sanchez, national initiatives regional director for Citibank; Emma Ramirez-Hightower, an agent with State Farm Insurance; Martita Mestey, director of ihispano.com; and Jose Ulloa, president of Latinos 2010.