FNF Fidelity National Financial Inc

SAN FRANCISCO, May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (FNF), one of the nation's leading providers of title insurance, specialty insurance and claims management services, today launched its Multicultural Marketing Program to Fresno and Stanislaus counties in California. This is the company's second major launch in the Central Valley, following its program expansion into San Joaquin and Sacramento counties. The Multicultural Marketing Program was launched in the Bay Area in 2006 by FNF's Multicultural Marketing Division. Its mission is to help raise the home-ownership rates for Latinos, Asians and African-Americans in the U.S., starting with California, where the home-ownership rates for the three segments are below the national average (2004 U.S. Census). The U.S. Census statistics also revealed an encouraging factoid. In Fresno and Stanislaus counties, the home-ownership rates for Latinos, Asians and African-Americans are close to or greater than California's home-ownership rates. In California the home-ownership rates are 44 percent for Latinos, 38.8 percent for African-Americans and 55.4 percent for Asian-Americans (U.S. Census 2004). According to the 2005 U.S. Census data, the Latino home-ownership rate for Fresno County is 45.5 percent and 55.1 percent in Stanislaus County. The African-American home-ownership rate is 34.4 percent in Fresno County and 49.5 percent in Stanislaus County. For Asian-Americans, the home-ownership rate is 55 percent in Fresno County and 58.8 percent in Stanislaus County. "Our vision is to help realize the dream of home-ownership in underserved communities," said Pablo Wong, senior vice president of Market Development for FNF. "We are proud to see that Fresno and Stanislaus counties are achieving higher home-ownership rates in these communities. With the launch our Multicultural Marketing Program here, we're hoping to boost home-ownership rates even higher." Alicia Bohigian, FNF Regional Multicultural Marketing Manager for Central Valley said, "Today's Multicultural Marketing Program launch in Fresno and Stanislaus counties affirms our commitment to provide education on the home buying process for the diverse communities represented in the Central Valley, by providing needed tools and resources to Latino, Asian and African-American communities." FNF will hold two educational events for real estate professionals in Fresno and Modesto to officially kick off its program expansion in these counties. Under the theme, "A Celebration of Home-ownership and Culture", FNF and guest speakers will address issues concerning title, escrow and real estate-related topics surrounding the multicultural market segments at the following locations: * Fresno Monday, May 14 Love and Garlic Restaurant 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m. 5351 N Diana Street, Fresno, CA * Modesto Tuesday, May 22 Red Lion Hotel 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m. 1612 Sisk Road, Modesto, CA Launched in April 2006, the Multicultural Marketing Program has made its way into Central California, the San Francisco Bay Area and more recently, the Central Valley. FNF has also trained more than 500 employees in Northern California under its Cultural Competency Training Program, which enables employees to better understand the culture and key demographics of multicultural communities and improve communications skills with their customers. Over 100 employees in Fresno and Stanislaus counties have completed diversity training. Two of FNF's title insurance underwriters, Fidelity National Title and Chicago Title, have developed and launched in-language websites such as mihogarencalifornia.com, micasaenca.com and other websites in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese dedicated to educating consumers on the real estate industry and the process of buying a home. "Education is the key to home-ownership," said Ric Bareng, President of the Filipino American Real Estate Professionals in the Bay Area. "The various programs, activities and materials that FNF has developed and are continuing to develop are greatly beneficial to the Latino, Asian and African-American communities that we serve and to real estate professionals like me." Aly Vizcarra, President of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, Stanislaus County said, "As a real estate professional who lives and services the Central Valley community, I am especially excited about today's Multicultural Marketing Program launch to Fresno and Stanislaus counties. I applaud FNF's ongoing outreach to bring reliable information and guidance to today's multicultural homebuyers." About Fidelity National Financial, Inc. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF), is a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance and claims management services. FNF is one of the nation's largest title insurance companies through its title insurance underwriters -- Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Ticor Title, Security Union Title and Alamo Title -- that issue approximately 29 percent of all title insurance policies in the United States. FNF also provides flood insurance, personal lines insurance and home warranty insurance through its specialty insurance business. FNF also is a leading provider of outsourced claims management services to large corporate and public sector entities through its minority-owned subsidiary, Sedgwick CMS. More information about FNF can be found at http://www.fnf.com/ . DATASOURCE: Fidelity National Financial, Inc. CONTACT: Mary Placido of GolinHarris, +1-415-274-7902, , for Fidelity National Financial, Inc. Web site: http://www.fnf.com/

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