2.14.2008 - 01:30pm ET

(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 14, 2008 – Fred Mendez, senior vice president for community development at Rabobank, N.A., has been named a senior fellow at the Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) of the Aspen Institute, effective immediately.

Mendez, who has an extensive background in the community development finance field, will be part of a research team documenting sustainability strategies for Community Development Financial Institutions. He also will continue in his current position with Rabobank, where he oversees Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) compliance, community development lending, and investment activity and corporate social responsibility.

Prior to joining Rabobank, Mendez was the director of community reinvestment for SVB Financial Group, a $5 billion hybrid international financial services corporation, where he implemented a CRA program that led to the creation of the organization’s corporate social responsibility program.

Mendez is a past Aspen Institute visiting scholar during which he co-authored two studies focusing on the evolution and future of the community development finance industry. His past experience also includes nine years at the Federal Reserve, including serving as a senior community investment specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

He has published articles and studies on the CRA, consortia lending, community development investments and Native American economic development. He also assisted in the creation of various multi-bank community development lending organizations, affordable housing and small business lending trade associations, and the Federal Reserve’s Community Development Lending School.

Kirsten Moy, director of EOP, said her research team is looking forward to tapping into Mendez's vast knowledge of community development finance. "Fred brings tremendous expertise and experience to our work. We are delighted that he is once again able to affiliate with us at the Aspen Institute and know he will add much richness to our research."

Rabobank, N.A. is the U.S. retail banking division of Rabobank Group, a leader in global financial services with assets of more than $800 billion and in corporate social responsibility in the countries in which it operates.

EOP, housed at the Washington, D.C.-based Aspen Institute, examines innovative and promising strategies that connect the poor and underemployed to the mainstream economy. A significant portion of its work focuses on issues and trends in community development finance and how they impact low-income populations.

More information about the Economic Opportunities Program is available on the Aspen Institute's Web site: www.aspeninstitute.org.

The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River near the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership initiatives in Africa, Central America, and India.

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