Veterans United Home Loans wins MBA's 2018 MBA Residential Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award

October 15, 2018

COLUMBIA, Mo. Veterans United Home Loans was recognized by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) as a 2018 Residential Diversity and Inclusion Leadership award winner at MBA's 2018 Annual Convention and Expo held Oct. 14-17 in Washington, D.C. The annual awards recognize MBA members for their leadership efforts in diversity and inclusion in two award categories: organizational diversity and market outreach strategies.

Veterans United is a national full-service lender that is the No. 1 VA lender for FY 2018. It was one of four 2018 MBA Residential Diversity and Inclusion Leadership award recipients, and was recognized as an Organizational Diversity and Inclusion award winner for its efforts to promote diversity within its culture. In 2012, Veterans United launched its United Initiative. Through the initiative, the company works to create an inclusive work environment that welcomes and encourages its employees to deliver results through their own unique skill sets, backgrounds and perspectives to enhance the lives of others.

"One of the key foundational pieces of our company is the culture our employees promote," said Dr. Amanda Andrade, chief people officer at Veterans United Home Loans. Diversity, inclusion and respect for one another is part of our guiding principles and areas of our collective experience that we hold dear.

Veterans United launched its Immersion Internship Program in May 2018 with 12 interns coming to Columbia, Missouri from Michigan, Massachusetts, North Carolina, California, Florida, Georgia and Kansas. Interns were placed in departments across the company, worked on a start-up nonprofit (Inclusive Impact Institute), executive projects, were mentored by seasoned employees and executives, and participated in developmental and social programs. The intent of this nationally sourced diversity internship is to immerse students of color in the mortgage industry, the Columbia community and the company's culture. Out of the 12 interns from the 2018 class, several went on to full-time opportunities and continued internships at Veterans United.

MBA members throughout the country are committed to diversity and inclusion, which was evident from the quality submissions we received from countless members who are developing valuable initiatives and programs to better serve their employees and customers, said Chris George, 2019 MBA chairman, and president and CEO of CMG Financial. This year's winners reflect the best of those submissions, and they deserve to be celebrated for creating positive change and progress in the mortgage industry.

To determine this year's Organizational Diversity and Market Outreach Strategies award winners, submissions were reviewed by two groups of judges consisting of members of MBA's Diversity and Inclusion Committee and MBA staff. The companies, based on overall number of employees, were scored by the quality of their overall submission, identification of a target audience and annual goals, demonstration of a tangible benefit to participants and the overall enterprise, and the replicability of the program. Innovative program approaches and potential success in broadening the culture of the organization through the values of diversity and inclusion were also considered.

Veterans United has ranked for three straight years as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE. It also ranked No. 2 on the list of 2018 Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance by Fortune and Great Place to Work.

To learn more about MBA's Diversity and Inclusion efforts, please visit mba.org/diversity. MBA's 2018 Summit on Diversity and Inclusion will be held in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 27-28, 2018.