Oct 9, 2024 • Pamela Garcia

Reflecting on your journey, from the time you co-founded BCL in 1990, to today, what are the professional milestones that you feel most proud of?

As the founder of Business and Community Lenders of Texas, I am most proud of three milestones: achieving autonomy and statewide expansion; staying focused on capital formation and leveraging BCL capital for economic sustainability.

For seven years after forming BCL, the organization operated in a no cost incubation space. As CEO, I stumbled on the sale of a small former bank building on South Congress Avenue in South Austin and used BCL’s saved earnings to purchase the bank building and to spin off from the incubation space. This autonomy and visible storefront presence propelled BCL to become a statewide lender opening offices in Dallas and San Marcos, Texas. We outgrew the small bank building and in 2019 purchased the entire 5th floor of an office building, finished out the space and moved downtown across from the Texas State Capitol. 1011 San Jacinto serves as BCL’s permanent headquarters. It has amazing views of the State Capitol and will accommodate BCL’s future growth.

Under my leadership, BCL secured certification as a statewide CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) and with board support, I developed a $50 million multiyear capital strategy. Focused on capital formation, BCL raised the $50 million as planned. The raised capital has allowed BCL to expand its lending capacity to include business, consumer, mortgage and community facility loans. BCL is now the most diverse loan-product economic development firm in Texas. BCL is a catalyst for economic parity in underserved communities.

As I close out my tenure at BCL of Texas, I am proud that BCL has leveraged its capital to over $1.9 billion in small business, mortgage and consumer loans significantly impacting more than eight thousand economically disadvantaged families across the state. I have stayed true to the BCL promise of building vibrant communities for lower-income and middle-class families. That remains at the forefront of our efforts.

In your time as head of BCL, you have seen ups and downs, but right now, as you prepare to move into your new role, what do you see as the biggest challenges facing underserved communities in Texas and how do you see BCL working to address these?

The biggest challenges facing Texas’ underserved communities are the need for infrastructure capital, capital for affordable housing and capital for the development of essential services like childcare, medical and healthy food. A wait and see approach to address these issues is not the solution. During economic recessions, community leaders must be willing to be change agents, take risks and initiate new solutions. Water and electric power are critical to community stability. Underserved rural Texas towns must seek infrastructure funds to install new water and electric conservation systems so that the towns can be sustainable. Small towns should not wait for grants, because grants are competitive and not guaranteed. Small towns need to borrow capital and invest in infrastructure now.

On the issue of affordable housing, prices have skyrocketed in urban cities causing families to move to the suburbs and rural towns where the cost of land for new homes is more affordable. We are seeing smaller lot sizes, smaller homes and more density. Many families lack the downpayment needed to purchase a home or to make the monthly mortgage payments. Housing developers need to be incentivized with no cost land, low interest construction loans and lower cost of materials to build high quality energy efficient homes. Families need homebuyer readiness training, forgivable down payment assistance loans and graduated interest rates to achieve homeownership. BCL has a track record of providing forgivable downpayment assistance loans and we will continue to seek capital to continue dpa loans. BCL has also launched predevelopment loans and below market rate construction loans to developers committed to building affordable housing. BCL is actively seeking a warehouse line of credit to grow the BCL mortgage lending.

On the topic of childcare, food and health deserts, BCL has increased its loan sized to help fund childcare facilities, grocery stores/food pantries and medical centers with discounted interest rate loans. These essential businesses are big ticket items, but the BCL funds are used to fill the capital stack needed to bring these businesses to communities in need. BCL is an innovator, we take risk, and we create services and loan products others won’t create. BCL does not waiver, I learned from my mentors and board leaders, if other organizations across America can find solutions so can we. BCL is customer centric and pilots new products to ensure that it is right sized and right priced for underserved communities and borrowers.

Throughout your career, you’ve been a role model, and you’ve mentored young people. So, now as you look back and you step into your new role, what advice would you give to young aspiring Latinos, especially Latinas in economic development and finance, who want to follow in your footsteps and do the kind of things that you’ve done in your life?

Today’s Latino’s have every opportunity available to succeed. I was born in Mexico and as a poor teen growing up on a dairy farm, I could not imagine what a middle-class lifestyle could be like. Electric typewriters were the technology of my youth. The formula for success is to embrace every opportunity and technology and resource available. Latinos are driven…and need to use that driven energy to build a path for success. Stay focused, get educated, volunteer, take on the jobs others don’t want and let your work speak for itself. Learn to speak up, lead by using technology and stay ahead. There are no shortcuts. Good is not good enough, you have to raise the bar for yourself and to be innovative. I can give this advice because this is what led me to be successful in economic development. For young Latinas, get a degree in business, economics or community development, study federal, state and local policy, be engaged in local government, stay true to your personal foundation, don’t compromise your values, speak to your convictions, step out and get noticed, express your professional opinions and stay informed. I research all the time; I network across America, and I take calculated risks that lead to successful outcomes. Make time for family and friends. Read, enjoy the arts and recharge before you get out there again and continue the work. It takes a lot of time and energy to become a successful professional. Stay strong. Invest time in your leadership capacity. Be selfless, and proud of your Latina culture. Be grateful for the opportunities made available to you and the opportunity to help others. And remember to mentor new Latina leaders along the way.

You often talk about the role of diversity and its importance to BCL, particularly the importance of diversity on the board and on the staff. How do you believe that is has helped your organization?

Early in my career I was often the only Latina woman in a room full of white men at economic development conferences. My mentors taught me the value of diversity on the Board and the workplace. Economic development solutions are harder to tackle for underserved families and requires innovative change. BCL was formed during an economic recession by white college educated men who needed help to stabilize their small towns. The BCL Board respected me, a Latina woman for my experience in local and statewide economic development and I trusted each board member. So, when put to the task of diversifying the Board each board member delivered. As CEO, I challenged the board with a goal of diversifying the BCL board representation to reflect the demographics of the Texas population.

The diversification strategy included the invitation of visionary women and persons of color from across Texas to serve on the BCL Board of directors. The BCL board of directors took my challenge to task and began to vet local Latino, African American and women to serve on the BCL board. Soon we had women, African American and Latino bankers, city managers and civic leaders in advisory capacities and as board vacancies became available, appointments were filled with diverse leaders. Board discussions became more robust. BCL set stretch goals to initiate creative solutions for diverse, low- and middle-income families. Diversity on the board and staff has remained a standard business practice that has proven BCL well. Board and staff diversity and programs to underserved low-income communities is at the heart of BCL’s economic development work. When one family prospers with asset building a community prospers. When businesses expand, they create jobs and families can improve their livelihood. Economic equity in access to capital is a hallmark of our organization.

In your career leading BCL, what are some of things that stand out in your mind, things that you’re particularly proud of, or stories or moments that mean a lot to you.

There are many special moments that stand out for me. Being a community champion is one that I am proud of. BCL consistently delivers for communities and its loan customers. Communities call on BCL to help during natural disasters like wildfires, torrential rains and hurricanes. When Hurricane Harvey hit, we called every business and family customer along the hurricane range to learn if they had been impacted. We told our customers that the number one priority was to take care of their families and to begin to rebuild their homes and businesses. What makes BCL unique is that we are first responders and have a track record of dedicating millions of dollars to create zero percent loans for families to rebuild their flooded homes and businesses to repair their properties due to natural disasters. Post hurricane Harvey, with the resources of NeighborWorks America, BCL was able to send seven semi-truck full of furniture to Port Arthur, Texas and during one cold thirty-two-degree January weekend, team BCL distributed furniture to flooded families in need. We are more than a lender; we have community in our name. It is in mine and BCL’s core to uplift families that need BCL’s help the most.

Another experience that stands out was a BCL Board Chair and CEO trip to Washington DC to receive a $5 million dollar grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. BCL competed nationally for the JPMorgan Advancing Cities award, and we Won! We became licensed as a consumer lender and launched the BCL Community Loan Centers. BCL designated a portion of the funds for Dallas, and we held a Press conference on how the funds would help city of Dallas employees with small dollar loans as an alternative to predatory pay day loans. The grant seed capital for the CLC of Austin and Dallas has evolved to $39 million dollars and we have helped over 30,000 individuals avert predatory lenders.

Another event that truly touched my heart was when we hosted a Homebuyer Fair that was attended by over 700 low-income families anxious to qualifying for mortgage loans and forgivable downpayment assistance grants. Wells Fargo coordinated, paid for the event and had a team of over 50 staff ready to work. NeighborWorks America paid for NeighborWorks organizations from several states to join BCL at this major even that was televised in English and Spanish TV. Team BCL grew from 10 staff to over 30 homeownership professionals ready to help the 700 families registered to attend. For two long days, I personally signed and handed the BCL approval letters to each family that qualified for downpayment loan forgiveness and with each letter that I delivered there were many many celebratory tears and hugs with the excitement of soon to be reaching the dream of homeownership. BCL has replicated the Homebuyer Fair model several times and I find each Homebuyer fair extremely rewarding.

Final comments:

The BCL story of three decades of providing capital for asset building, homeownership, business growth and community stability lays the foundation for the future and a legacy that as I retire, I am proud to leave. As BCL CEO, I led in the $50 million capital formation, took risk and create loan programs never before offered in Texas, helped over 7,000 families and businesses from underserved communities to build generational wealth. The BCL story then and now is also my personal story of coming from Mexico, getting educated in ivy league schools, becoming a successful CEO and building generational wealth for my family.

The work at hand for BCL is not finished. As Texas’ population grows from thirty million to fifty million, and border cities and rural communities continue to face persistent poverty, businesses continue to face economic disparity and solutions to affordable housing are not addressed, the future BCL will need to triple its capital formation efforts, double down on the use of new technology, support education and asset building to uplift families and Texas communities. The future BCL will be smarter, more efficient in its product delivery, will use green business practices and will keep its promise to build up low- and middle-income families at the forefront of all our efforts while preserving and growing the Texas economy.