Luz is the President and CEO of El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad®. Luz has played a leadership role with New Market Partners since its inception, and continues to serve in an active advisory role with key bank clients. Luz is a nationally recognized leader for her work in banking the unbanked Hispanic community in the United States. In addition to her role leading El Banco, Luz serves in several prominent policy making positions, including the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Advisory Council, board member of the non-profit Center for Financial Services Innovation, and the CEO Roundtable. Luz was recognized as the American Banker’s Community Banker of the Year for her work with El Banco.
Prior to joining El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad, Luz was a Senior Vice President with Wachovia for 18 years in various positions in the Corporate Bank, Treasury Services, Capital Markets, Risk Management, Operations, and Retail Divisions. Most recently, she was Senior Vice President for the Global Services Department of Wachovia, a position in which she developed and implemented several domestic and international strategic alliances in the U.S. and overseas. Ms. Urrutia led efforts in Wachovia’s expansion into Canada and Mexico and also initiated several other relationships in European markets.