RAFAEL L ZUNIGA-RODRIGUEZ MA, JD
**-**, **** ***. ***. 5T, Sunnyside, Queens, New York, NY 11377
787-***-**** ********@*******.***
QUALIFICATION HIGHLIGHTS
11+ years of professional experience in Consumer Financial Protection: Community Reinvestment Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Housing Act and prevention of Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices; US Consumer Legal and Regulatory Compliance (and NY, NJ and Florida); Banking & Investment Law; Dodd-Frank Reform on Consumer Compliance; State Mortgage Disclosure Laws.
15 + years of professional experience in Legal and Policy Research and Analysis, in Economic & Social Policy Design and Analysis, in Non-Profits Development and Management, Community Organization & Cooperatives Law and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility; Organizational & Leadership Development; Educational, Training and Knowledge Management; Poverty & Social Development; Community Economic Development & Self-Management; Small Business Development; Affordable Housing Laws and Programs (Federal and State).
Highly trained and strong proven experience in regulatory development, social policy making and analysis, administrative and legislative procedure, social advocacy and regulatory development, socioeconomic research and statistical analysis. International socio-economic research experience in the UK, Chile, Egypt and Puerto Rico.
Expert in Theories on Democracy and on the Democratization Process; Transitional Justice Models in New Democracies; Continental Philosophy.
Excellent management, verbal and written communication skills, in exchanging with all levels, functions, and personality types of the social, political and economic world. Positive attitude about the potential of all of people; Ability to conduct cross-functional communication. Successfully worked with challenging people, leading change and understanding how to empower people to work together for the good of an organization and its goals.
Good judgment, excellent problem-solving, and high analytical and decision-making skills; highly trained in conflict resolution methods and in the practice of negotiation.
Attention to detail with a high degree of accuracy; Ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced, time sensitive environment; Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Popular Community Bank (Banco Popular North America) Dec. 2014- Jan 2016 Regulatory Consumer Compliance and Community Reinvestment Manager
Created the structure of PCB Community Reinvestment/Consumer Compliance Department, after its physical and administrative transition from IL to NY, including the complete revision of all Consumer Compliance and CRA policies and procedures, update of all Compliance Risk Management practices, and the hiring of 80% of new compliance personnel;
Provide oversight, advice and guidance on all aspect regarding the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Compliance program and HMDA data quality and accuracy (data scrubbing, geocoding, census analysis), including Community Development Lending and Investments internal qualification, in LIHTC, FHLB-NY, HUD and New York State affordable housing programs, SBA and CDFI Community Development/Small Business schemes, LMI Healthcare lending and investments, New Market and Low Income Tax Credits, NYC Development Zones, Performance Context Analysis and responsible for regulatory CRA and HMDA annual submission;
Supervise unit in charge of oversight of Federal Consumer Protection laws and regulations, New York, New Jersey and Florida State Consumer Protection laws and regulations (Deposits: Reg E, CC, DD, UDAAP, Garnishment of Deposits, Can-SPAM, Privacy; Credit: Reg B, C, SCRA, RESPA, Z, Collections, Flood and UDAAP), CRA, HMDA & related areas of compliance in credit, retail, commercial, deposit and mortgage line of business;
Supervised and conducted the implementation of all the recent regulatory changes within the institution (2014-2015);
Prepared and reviewed all 2012-2015 data under examination and served as the main liaison with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York State Department of Financial Services in their Consumer Compliance/Fair Lending/CRA exam
(2015); conducted all major risk assessment testing on all the laws and regulations under Federal and State examination, including: data accuracy, transactional underwriting, regression analysis and comparative file review (on pricing and underwriting), SCRA guarantees, Flood Insurance procedures and applicability (new and renewals), RESPA/TILA closing requirements, among others;
Execute functions designed to comply with Regulations O and W. Serve as the Coordinator of the New Product Development Committee/Risk Assessment team on new proposed bank products and/or services;
Administer the bank width Regulatory Complaints Management System and opinions response process, review, evaluate and approve of advertisement materials, law/regulation implementation process, including the policy/procedures/disclosures development process and the Compliance Training Program; provide guidance to the Line of Business regarding regulatory requirements;
Support the staff on all the tasks assigned and Assists the Line of Business in all regulatory related matters. Office of Senator Ramón Luis Nieves Pérez. Senate of Puerto Rico Jan. 2013 – Dec. 2014 Executive Director (Chief of Staff) – Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Telecommunications
Chief policy adviser of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance & Telecommunications;
Develop and execute all policy objectives, strategies, and operating plans of the Committee and coordinate the activities of the Chairman of the Committee with consumers, regulatory agencies and representatives of banking, insurance and telecommunication industries regarding specific policy measures under legislative consideration;
Conducted the reform of the Puerto Rican financial legal framework (which included major amendments to PR Banking Law, Mortgage Law, Contracts, among others) updating and aligning its protections with 2011 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2013-2014);
Drafted Community Reinvestment related bills: introduction of Benefit Corporations to the PR Corporate Law; and a state CRA bill for credit unions, mortgage banks and investments corporations.
Coordinates public hearings, site inspections and executive meetings of the Committee;
Review, write, and/or edit proposed legislation, legal memoranda, amendments and other documentation, including graphic materials for presentations, editorial corrections of any proposed legislative bills to be submitted or filed within the Committee. Compliance & Legal Department, Scotiabank (Bank of Nova Scotia) May 2010 - Jan. 2013 Community Reinvestment (CRA) & Regulatory Compliance Manager
Legal compliance program leader for the consumer protection federal laws and regulations: Community Reinvestment Act
(CRA); Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA); Fair Lending (ECOA & FHA); the operation of the Mortgage Quality Control program (Origination and Servicing, Conventional, FHA and Freddie Mac); and Regulation O (Loan to Insiders), Regulation W
(Transactions between Member Banks & their Affiliates) and Privacy Compliance;
Coordinated the process of “building blocks” of financial reform based on Dodd-Frank on the laws and regulations assigned;
Designed and conducted the first major and comprehensive Fair Lending review in Puerto Rico, and created oversight mechanisms to protect all FHA / ECOA classes in the institution (especially in auto lending and mortgage lending). My work was highly praised by the FDIC in its 2009-2012 Consumer Compliance/CRA examination (as can be noticed on Scotiabank’s CRA FDIC Public Evaluation of 2012);
Direct supervisory duties over the HMDA Officers, and the Mortgage Quality Control Officers;
Responsible of all the HMDA & CRA data collection, accuracy, review and submission process to the regulatory agencies;
Oversight of all Lending, Investment and Services related to Community Reinvestment and Corporate Social Responsibility within the Bank;
Led and directed the Community Outreach and the Corporate Social Responsibility programs of the institution in terms of community relations and community development practice;
Responsible of the oversight on the UN “Global Compact” Corporate Social Responsibility- Puerto Rico annual report, and served as the institutional liaison with educational, social and community development organizations. Legal Compliance Department, R-G Premier Bank Oct. 2005 – Apr. 2010 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Officer
Administer all aspects of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Fair Lending
(ECOA & FHA) Compliance programs;
Creation, testing and assessment of internal controls and compliance internal policies related to these federal laws, to related FDIC regulation and the internal standards; constructing risk control self-assessments, reporting audit results; identifying and assessing areas of compliance risk; recommending internal controls and prevention mechanisms, training, and designing solutions if unsatisfactory performance, noncompliance, or opportunities for improvement are identified;
Hiring, training and supervision of staff members responsible for the implementation of specific regulatory compliance activities, both from within the bank and in several community based and non-for-profit organizations and over the HMDA team;
Responsible of all the HMDA & CRA data collection, accuracy, review and submission process to the regulatory agencies;
Manage to increase the closing and capture (for reporting purposes) of Community Development activity in 400%, including loans and investments, along the different lines of business of the institution (2005-2010);
Coordinated with FDIC examiners during CRA/Regulatory Compliance examinations and with the internal and independent auditors to ensure that compliance issues are adequately addressed where appropriate. RGPB became the first Puerto Rican owned financial institution to receive an overall CRA “Outstanding” rating by the FDIC (2007);
Chair of the Community Reinvestment Compliance Committee, managed the Community Outreach and reformed and chaired the Corporate Social Responsibility policy of the institution;
Conducted and administered the self-assessment testing process and procedures on the regulations assigned. Reported to the Board of Directors in a quarterly basis of all CRA and HMDA and major Fair Lending performance related activity. Office for the Socio-Economical Finance and Community Self-Management Jun. 2001-Oct. 2005 Office of the Governor, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Deputy Coordinator, Socio-Economic and Community Entrepreneurship Development Division
Responsible of the managerial, professional and administrative work in training, planning, directing, coordinating and implementing the programs, services and activities of the Division with the purpose to promote community organization, economic community development and self-management as means to reduce poverty, marginalization and inequality;
Designed the socio-economic research policy and procedure on housing needs in 84 low income communities (this study provided the layout for a major public housing reform in PR on 2003);
Supervised a staff of community organizers assigned to the Arecibo rural region;
Created and designed the basic administrative, operational and strategic structures of the Community Economic Development Officials assigned to the division;
Served as the project manager on successful high-level, community economic development projects, such as workers cooperatives, fisheries and small family business. EDUCATION
Juris Doctor, Law - Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Law Dec. 2008 Master in Arts, Ideology and Discourse Analysis (Political Theory) - University of Essex, England Apr. 2001 Master in Arts, Sociology of Culture - University of Essex, England Apr. 2000 Bachelor in Arts, Sociology; Minor: Anthropology - University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus May 1997 LANGUAGES English and Spanish (Fully Fluent); Basic French and Portuguese SOFTWARE
Advanced computer skills in MS Windows and Ubuntu GNU/Linux environments, excellent skills in the use of MS Office and in its open source counterparts; experience with the Internet and on-line research systems, in legal research software tools, and in the CRA/Fair Lending Wiz family of compliance software solutions from PCi/Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. Capable to develop small local secure networks using GNU/Linux applications. ADDITIONAL EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS
2014 National Inter-Agency Community Reinvestment Conference (Mar. 2014), FRB, FDIC, OCC, CDFI Fund, Chicago, IL.
Fannie Mae Quality Control Update and Identifying Mortgage Fraud (Nov. 2010), MBAPR and Fannie Mae, San Juan, PR
Identifying Mortgage Fraud (Jan. 2010), Mortgage Loan Officers Association of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR
FDIC 2009, 2010 & 2011 Annual Compliance Seminar-Minority Depository Institutions (Dec. 2009; Nov. 2010; Nov 2011), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) New York Region & Puerto Rican Bankers Association, Guaynabo, PR.
Seminar on Legislative and Advocacy Procedure, (May, 2009) –Treasury Commission of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR
Corporate Social Responsibility- Diploma (Methodology of the Center for Corporate Citizenship of Boston College) (Mar.2006), Vincularse Corporate Social Responsibility Institute & Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile, San Juan, PR
CRA Data Preparation and Data Analysis (Jan, 2006), CRA Wiz 6.5 Statistical Computer Software, PCi Institute, Boston, MA
Local Action Forum for the World Water Crisis: the Water as a Social and Economic Catalyst (Dec. 2005), Environmental Resources Management / Inter-American Sanitary and Environmental Engineering Association, San Juan, PR
Post-Graduate Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediation of Conflicts (Dec. 2005), Conflict Resolution Institute - School of Law, Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, PR VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
New York New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NY NICE), New York, NY (2015- ) Volunteer in the Immigrant Consumer Justice Campaign Working Group (ICJC), training the day laborers community on their rights and on how avoid consumer fraud. Served as the Director of the theater play "Ana Busca Trabajo", popular education drama warning about the use of predatory employment agencies, salary theft and fake immigration service providers.
Sila M. Calderon Community Foundation, San Juan, PR (2010-2013) Member of the Working Group on Poverty and Community Economic Development. Member of the advisory board of the Community Economic Development Post-Graduate Certification curriculum, administered by the Foundation and Rutgers University
Proyecto Enlace Caño Martín Peña Community Development Project and Community Land Trust (First community land trust in Puerto Rico, winner of several international recognitions as “USA EPA 2007 Environmental Quality Award”, "Paul Davidoff 2009 Award for Social Change and Diversity” of the American Planning Association and UN-Habitat World Habitat Award of 2016), San Juan, PR (2006-2014)
Provided legal advice and technical support in the lobbying process of the Senate Bill that became PR Act 104 -2014, which reinstated the Martin Peña Creek Land Trust. Provided technical support in the development of the Land Trust by-laws, internal guidelines. Member of the advisory board.
Proyecto País for Educational Reform, San Juan, PR (2012) Civil society coalition of diverse sectors working for the advocacy of a new public educational model in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Community Foundation, San Juan, PR (2008 – 2013) Member of the Community Economic Development Consortium; Advisory and Oversight Board of Puerto Rico's Community Foundation project “Internet Access as a way to increase access to information on jobs, technology. and entrepreneurship in Puerto Rico rural communities” (funded by the Knight Foundation).