Thursday, July 27, 2006

Wachovia Expands Support for Minority Business Enterprises

Wachovia Corporation has announced the second phase of its Technical Assistance Project (TAP) to California, allowing the company to maintain its longstanding commitment to communities and minority business enterprises (MBE) within its markets.


Part of Wachovia's merger with Westcorp, phase II of TAP is based on the success Wachovia experienced with the SouthTrust merger in 2004. "Wachovia's TAP initiative will give selected California MBEs a better opportunity to grow in the corporate procurement marketplace,” said Lenny Springs, director of Supplier Diversity for Wachovia. “The program also lets Wachovia contribute to the economic growth of the many communities where we do business."


TAP is a part of Wachovia's overall commitment to minority businesses. Program initiatives for selected MBEs include:
Growth summits focused on building business capacity.
One-on-one capacity-building initiatives to help MBEs be more competitive in the marketplace.


R.J. Medrano & Associates (RJM&A), a Hispanic-owned firm specializing in minority, women and small business enterprises, and The Dilworth Companies, an African-American-owned company specializing in strategic investments and business capacity building, were retained by Wachovia to provide consulting and management assistance. “The results of the previous Technical Assistant Project illustrate the potential benefits of minority businesses development initiatives,” said Raul Medrano, president of RJM&A. “I'm excited to work with a company with such an innovative approach to minority businesses.” Formed in 2001, Wachovia's Supplier Diversity Program ensures the development of mutually advantageous business relationships with businesses and firms owned and operated by minorities and women.



Wachovia Corporation is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services companies, providing 13.4 million household and business relationships with a broad range of banking, asset management, wealth management and corporate and investment banking products and services.


Wachovia has retail and commercial banking operations in 16 states with 3,109 offices from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas and California. Two core businesses operate under the Wachovia Securities brand name: retail brokerage in 49 states and in Latin America, and corporate and investment banking in selected industries nationwide.


Globally, Wachovia serves clients through more than 40 international offices. Wachovia had assets of $553.6 billion, market capitalization of $86.0 billion and stockholders' equity of $48.9 billion at June 30, 2006.