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Speaking Engagements
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October 27-30, 2009
James Gutierrez, CEO and Co-founder of Progreso Financiero, addressed how regulators and government need to pay more attention to how demand for small dollar loans in certain communities can be met with alternatives to payday loans. He explained how "the largest challenge is how to meet the $40 billion per year demand for pay day loans, and cutting off supply without offering an alternative will likely push more segments into the margins of mainstream financial services." He continued by remarking "the challenge for CDFIs is achieving a scale that matters, which usually goes hand in hand with building an operating model that is sustainable".
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October 23, 2009
Progreso Financiero's CEO, James Gutierrez, addressed the lack of credit for the underserved and offering insights into how Progreso Financiero is changing the credit landscape for this population. Discussing how the company he founded in 2005 is trying to bring the under-banked in the U.S. into mainstream financial services he remarked "Not having a credit record in the United States is like not having a face, not having an identity. Progreso Financiero's goal is to change that. We want to help those millions of individuals build credit, move up the financial ladder and achieve their lifelong aspirations for themselves and their families".
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October 22, 2009
James Gutierrez, CEO of Progreso Financiero addressed FDIC Chairman, Sheila Bair and the FDIC Advisory committee on Economic Inclusion, explaining how his company is innovating to make small dollar loans available to a growing number of communities. "Our challenge is in achieving scale which would allow us to leverage our innovative risk scoring model, our proprietary technological solutions to a high touch lending approach, and the distribution channels we have developed" explained James. "Progreso Financiero has already made close to 35,000 small dollar loans to under-banked Hispanics, almost double the volume generated by the Small Dollar Loan pilot program".
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October 21, 2009
James Gutierrez, CEO of Progreso Financiero, along with the leaders of 3 other financial services companies, presented how they are part of a select group that represents the "wind and solar" companies of financial liquidity. These companies provide financing that is fair to consumers and small businesses. "Progreso Financiero has brought innovation and liquidity to the market at a time when traditional banking institutions are pulling back. Regulators have the power to cultivate the innovation that represents the future of credit and capital markets" remarked James.
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September 25, 2009
James Gutierrez, CEO of Progreso Financiero, outlined how the company he started in 2005 helps underbanked Hispanics build credit, move up the financial ladder and achieve their lifelong aspirations. "We provide the building blocks that enable un-banked and under-banked Hispanics to climb the financial ladder, starting with our core lending product" he mentioned, "and will continue with other products that provide personal security and asset building options". He also mentioned how every customer is taken through the company's own credit education process as they take their first step on the financial ladder, ensuring a lasting impact that goes beyond their initial loan with Progreso Financiero.
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September 1-3, 2009
James Gutierrez, CEO of Progreso Financiero, discussed how the company he founded "thrives in a constant balancing act of providing the building blocks that enable under-banked Hispanics to climb the financial ladder, and building a scalable enterprise that also returns a profit to its investors". "Social Capital can help bridge the gap that brings the do-good / do-well philosophy to a tangible business that positively affects the lives of many".
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May 28, 2009
James Gutierrez, CEO of Progreso Financiero, speaks at the Microfinance USA Conference, addressing how microloans are starting to make an impact on one of America's big challenges, bringing mainstream financial services to the under-banked.
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October 19, 2007
James Gutierrez is a local entrepreneur making loans to the Hispanic community of San Jose since 2005, through Progreso Financiero, the company he founded with financial backing from local Venture Capitalists. "I come from the Hispanic community" remarked James, "and I saw firsthand how important access to credit and mainstream financial services is for the under-banked in pursuing their lifelong aspirations".
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October 16, 2007
Progreso Financiero's CEO, James Gutierrez remarked how there were 30 million Hispanic adults in the US in 2007, representing 15 percent of the adult population, according to the Pew Hispanic Profile. Of those, two-thirds – some 21 million Hispanics -- are underbanked, most of which have either a thin credit file or none at all. This lack of a substantial credit record, along with the difficulty of finding traditional financial institutions in their communities, means that millions of Hispanics in the US have few choices when it comes to making use of mainstream financial services, like credit.
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