Banker & Tradesman: May 23, 2022

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ANNIVERSARY BY THE NUMBERS

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R E AA LL EES ST T F AI N A INA CL I IANLF OI R NM F A O TRI M A TSI I O RE AA T ET E& & FIN NC ON NN C E S 1I 8N7C2 E

County close-up: Middlesex Spotlight: Somerville

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Andre Barbour is helping Boston’s minority communities get in on the ground floor of the development industry – literally – as head of NEI General Contracting’s year-old Workforce Opportunity Resource Center.

IN PERSON

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WEEK OF MONDAY, MAY 23, 2022

BANKING & LENDING BY THE NUMBERS

Many brokerages and developers don’t have extensive recruitment programs that can help link Black, Latino and Asian college grads with opportunities in the commercial real estate industry.

‘ T H E TA L E N T I S H E R E ’

120 The number of Mass. Bankers members. See Diane McLaughlin’s story on page 9. Source: Massachusetts Bankers Association

1652 The first coins minted in the British North American colonies were made in Massachusetts. See This Month in History on page 9. Source: Boston Fed

5 The length, in months, of time it took Mass. Bankers to develop its new DEI strategy. See Diane McLaughlin’s story on page 9. Source: Massachusetts Bankers Association

5 The number of women on the Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod’s leadership team. See Lisa Oliver’s column on page 5. Source: Lisa Oliver

24 The number of people on Mass. Bankers’ new DEI council. See Diane McLaughlin’s story on page 9. Source: Massachusetts Bankers Association

1 Access to customer service channels drives the most satisfaction with onlineonly accounts. See Week on the Web on page 2. Source: J.D. Power

2020 Rockland Trust inventoried its DEI initiatives in 2021. See Diane McLaughlin’s story on page 9. Source: Christopher Oddleifson

MISSED CONNECTIONS HINDER

CRE RECRUITMENT

Project Destined Addresses the Diversity Gap BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

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edric Bobo is opening virtual doors to the commercial real estate industry for college students from diverse backgrounds, betting that a 10-week introductory course will lead to permanent career paths. “If you go into most schools, they wouldn’t know if [real estate] meant selling houses on Saturday or designing and

financing tall buildings,” he said. Raising the industry’s profile requires a break from traditional practices and recruitment channels. That was the impetus for the 2016 creation of Project Destined, Bobo’s training program for students taking their first look at commercial real estate. Project Destined now partners with 125 higher education institutions nationwide, with more than 2,000 participants in 25 cities having completed the program since 2016. In fall 2021, through partnerships with University of Massachusetts and other local colleges, it expanded into Greater Boston.

EDITOR’S NOTE Two years ago this week, George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, convulsing America with protests and debates about how to root out the pernicious legacy of racism in our society and economy. In this issue, Banker & Tradesman is examining progress made in addressing the most pressing issue identified in the real estate and banking sectors at the time: breaking down “old boys networks” and building career pathways in these largely white industries for people of color.

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8.86 percent Bank of America’s share of the Middlesex County single-family mortgage market. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Marketshare Module

Unless otherwise noted, all data is sourced from The Warren Group’s Mortgage Market Share Module, Loan Originator Module, Statistics Module and/or proprietary database. For more information please visit www.thewarrengroup.com/business/ datasolutions.

COMMERCIAL INTERESTS

FIRST STEPS

Baker’s Signature Reform Can’t Meet Scale of Need

Many Lenders Need Assistance Developing Action Plans

By Scott Van Voorhis | Banker & Tradesman Columnist

By Diane McLaughlin | Banker & Tradesman Staff

If She Wins, Healey Can’t Mass. Bankers Takes Steps Coast on Housing Choice to Guide Industry DEI Efforts

Commercial Real Estate PAGE 3

Banking & Lending PAGE 9


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