President Barack Obama is expcted on Wednesday to nominate a community bank owner to run the Small Business Association (SBA), Reuters reported.
Maria Contreras-Sweet, founder of ProAmerica Bank (PMRA) in Los Angeles, was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States at the age of 5. She will replace Jeanne Hulit, who temporarily filled the position after Karen Mills announced her resignation 11 months ago.
The president's nomination will most likely be announced at a formal event in Washington.
In addition to founding the bank, Contreras-Sweet was the first Hispanic woman to serve on the board of Blue Cross California and to fill a cabinet secretary position in California state government as their secretary of Business, Transporation, and Housing in 1999.
She currently chairs the board of PMRA which she founded in 2006. Prior to that, she was the president of Fortius Holdings -- a private-equity fund she co-founded, specializing in small businesses in California.
After an official nomination, Contreras-Sweet would have to be confirmed by Senate. Sen. James Risch, an Idaho Republican and well-known member of the Senate's Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, did not respond to a request for comment by Bloomberg.
Hector Barreto, former SBA chief who once traveled to Israel with Contreras-Sweet on a trip for Hispanic business leaders, said she would do well leading the agency.
"With all of the growth of the Hispanic business community in Los Angeles, she felt it was unacceptable that there weren't Hispanic-owned banks," Barreto said. "So she founded one of the first Hispanic-owned banks in L.A. That's the kind of vision and leadership that you need in the SBA."
