Meet Cerita Battles: Senior Vice President and Head of Retail Diverse Segments for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Cerita Battles
Cerita Battles is a Senior Vice President and Head of Retail Diverse Segments for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. (Wells Fargo Home Mortgage)

Cerita Battles is a Senior Vice President and Head of Retail Diverse Segments for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Cerita and her team are responsible for the development, implementation and execution of national strategies to increase and sustain homeownership among low-to-moderate (LMI) income and minority borrowers and communities. Those strategies include, but are not limited to, sourcing real estate practitioners and builders doing business in LMI and minority communities; recruitment and retention of diverse sales staff; partnering with non-profit agencies to provide homeownership counseling; and facilitating activities to increase awareness about products and programs to help families achieve and sustain the dream of homeownership.

During a recent interview with the NNPA Newswire, Ms. Battles said that it’s important for Wells Fargo to be present in the communities that the company serves.

“One of our key strategies for reaching our goals and African American newspapers are a trusted vehicle for news and information in those communities,” Ms. Battles said. “So, having information about being a homeowner and sustaining homeownership is critical to reaching the goals of the commitment and helping more African American families become homeowners.”

Battles continued: “African Americans need to have the confidence and knowledge to recognize that they can be homeowners, and that a lender, like Wells Fargo, truly wants to help them meet their home-financing needs. The Black Press, and other media for that matter, helps us share these messages to those who desire to obtain and sustain homeownership.”

Ms. Battles has been in the financial industry for over 29 years and 21 years specifically dedicated to mortgage. Ms. Battles has held several leadership positions with Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America within Sales, Product & Program Development, Strategic Partnerships and Diverse Segments.

Ms. Battles is a graduate of the University of Phoenix where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. She is a member of several trade, member and civic organizations both nationally and locally.

Ms. Battles resides in St. Augustine, Florida with her husband, Ronald and their beautiful 14-year old daughter, Myka Renae.