Hire advances Umpqua's commitment to
provide financial products and services that address affordable
housing and access challenges in its communities
Bascomb-Green, real estate and banking leader,
recently appointed by Governor Jay
Inslee as the new chair of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission
(WSHFC)
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore.,
Sept. 14,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Umpqua Bank, a subsidiary
of Columbia Banking System Inc. (Nasdaq: COLB), today announced the
appointment of Nicole Bascomb-Green
as Head of Community Lending. In this role, Bascomb-Green is
responsible for the management of the community lending team,
harnessing Umpqua's full resources
and expertise—including the Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation, and
the bank's Community Reinvestment Act experts, product and retail
banking leaders—to deliver innovative products and programs that
address housing affordability and access issues focused on
low-to-moderate income BIPOC communities.
"This appointment underscores our commitment to address the
affordable housing challenges our communities continue to face,"
said Chris Merrywell, President,
Consumer Banking. "Nicole's experience as a banker, underwriter,
loan officer, and real estate broker, as well as her passion to
make real progress in bringing housing opportunities to these
underserved communities are critical to serving customers pursuing
affordable homeownership and a path to building generational
wealth."
Bascomb-Green brings more than 30 years of banking, real estate,
and nonprofit experience to the role. Prior to joining Umpqua Bank,
she served as community affairs manager for Washington State and Idaho at U.S. Bank. She is currently president
for Western Washington Realtist, the local board of the National
Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), and is assistant vice
president for NAREB's Region XV. Bascomb-Green was recently named
state chair for Washington State's
Housing Finance Commission. She holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a BA in marketing from
The University of Washington.
"Through the Community Lending team, we are putting forth the
investment to strategically develop and deploy innovative programs
that provide financial opportunities to our BIPOC communities,"
Bascomb-Green said. "I am looking forward to working
collaboratively with our teams to further build upon the foundation
that was laid by my predecessor and our incredible team of
community lending professionals."
Today, the Black homeownership rate is only modestly higher than
it was at the time of the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. The
gap in homeownership rates between Blacks and whites is actually
larger than it was at the time of the passage of the Act: 29.3% in
2022 versus 23.8% in 1970, according to NAREB's 2022
State of Housing in Black America.
Community Lending
Umpqua Bank's Community Lending team
serves and supports low-to-moderate and minority communities across
the bank's footprint to achieve their dream of homeownership. The
team works with nonprofit housing organizations and ethnically
diverse realtor associations. It also engages with local elected
officials and state agencies to address housing affordability and
access issues.
About Umpqua Bank
Umpqua Bank is a subsidiary of
Columbia Banking System Inc. (Nasdaq: COLB), and a premier regional
bank in the Western U.S., with offices in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah,
Arizona and Colorado. With over $50
billion of assets, Umpqua
combines the resources, sophistication and expertise of a national
bank with a commitment to deliver personalized service at scale.
The bank consistently ranks as one of America's Best Banks (ranked
by Forbes) and supports consumers and businesses through a full
suite of services, including retail and commercial banking; Small
Business Administration lending; institutional and corporate
banking; equipment leasing; and wealth management. The bank's
corporate headquarters are in Lake
Oswego, Oregon.
Learn more at https://www.umpquabank.com.
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SOURCE Umpqua Bank