Wells Fargo, America's #1 small business lender, is new sponsor of two awards SAN FRANCISCO, June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Demonstrating a continued commitment to Latino business owners nationwide, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) announces the 2007 Annual USHCC Regional and National Hispanic Leadership & Business Excellence Awards. For the first time, Wells Fargo will sponsor two of the awards, the Hispanic Businesswoman of the Year and the Hispanic Businessman of the Year awards. The awards, which recognize extraordinary entrepreneurship, will be given at the USHCC Annual Convention, Business Expo & International Pavilion, September 19-22 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. USHCC and Wells Fargo will award $500 to 10 chambers who submit qualified nominations for the 2007 Hispanic Businesswoman and Hispanic Businessman of the Year Awards. The more nominations that a chamber submits, the more chances that chamber has to win. "The Regional and National Awards allow chambers, entrepreneurs and advocates to highlight their achievements, share their innovations and inspire others to achieve similar success," said Michael L. Barrera, President & CEO of the USHCC. "We are happy to have Wells Fargo as an awards sponsor, and are grateful for our ongoing relationship." "We're proud to sponsor the Hispanic Businesswoman and Businessman of the Year awards with the USHCC and look forward to recognizing these outstanding leaders," said Tim Rios, senior vice president and national spokesperson for Wells Fargo's Latino Business Services program. "For the past 10 years, Wells Fargo has joined with the USHCC to recognize and support Latino business owners, and these awards mirror Wells Fargo's commitment to their success." Since 1997, Wells Fargo's Latino Businesses Services program has used outreach and education to help Latino business owners increase their access to capital and other financial services. The program is dedicated to making financial literacy and in-language resources available through seminars and community activities. To measure the progress of its outreach efforts, Wells Fargo established a publicly-stated lending goal to lend $5 billion by 2010 to Latino-owned businesses. To date, Wells Fargo has loaned approximately $4 billion to Latino business owners nationwide. For more information about Wells Fargo's Latino Business Services program, please visit http://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/latino. The Hispanic Businesswoman of the Year and the Hispanic Businessman of the Year awards accompany several other USHCC awards, including recognition of the Small, Medium and Large Hispanic Chambers of the Year; the Government Business Advocate of the Year; the Corporate Business Advocate of the Year; and the Sanchez to Sanchez to Smith Award. Award applications are available at http://www.ushcc.com/ and http://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/latino and must be postmarked by July 9, 2007. For more information about the awards, contact Gina Manley at the USHCC at (202) 842-1212, ext. 493. About USHCC The USHCC was established in 1979 and is the leading advocate for Hispanic businesses and entrepreneurs. The USHCC represents the interests of more than two million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States, which earn more than $350 billion annually. The USHCC actively promotes the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and the Hispanic business community. It also serves as the umbrella organization for 200 local Hispanic chambers in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The 2007 Annual convention, Business Expo & International Pavilion will host a variety of workshops, chamber training and business sessions focused on building business relationships and creating opportunities for participants from all industries and from every corner of the U.S. and around the world. Business leaders, corporate executives, entrepreneurs and chamber members can take advantage of unique opportunities to network, exchange ideas for better business strategies, and participate in business matchmaking sessions with supplier-diversity procurement officers from corporate America and the federal government. The theme for this year's convention is "Building Commerce Among the Americas." For more information, please visit http://www.ushcc.com/. About Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $486 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 6,000 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the U.S., and one of only two banks worldwide, to have the highest credit rating from both Moody's Investors Service, "Aaa," and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, "AAA." Providing financial products and services to more than one and a half million businesses with annual sales up to $20 million in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, Wells Fargo is America's #1 small business lender in total dollar volume according to the most recent CRA data (2005). The second largest national SBA lender in dollars, Wells Fargo is an SBA Preferred Lender in 28 states and the District of Columbia, and originated 4,937 loans for $578 million in 2006. Its diverse business services programs provide outreach and education to women, African American, Latino, and Asian business owners about financial services. Since 1995, Wells Fargo has loaned more than $30 billion to women and diverse business owners. For more information, please visit http://www.wellsfargo.com/biz. DATASOURCE: Wells Fargo & Company CONTACT: Allison White of Wells Fargo, +1-415-975-6291, ; or Gina Manley of USHCC, +1-202-842-1212, ext. 493, Web site: http://www.wellsfargo.com/ http://www.ushcc.com/

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