DALLAS – Feb. 2, 2021 – Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC) (“SC” and “the Company”), has partnered with Operation HOPE, Inc. to offer HOPE Inside, an award-winning financial wellness program, to all SC employees. HOPE Inside provides a series of financial workshops and one-on-one personal coaching sessions designed to educate and transform thinking when it comes to making decisions about money, building wealth and working toward financial independence.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion are major priorities for SC,” said Mahesh Aditya, President and CEO of SC . “As we delved deeper into what it truly meant to be an inclusive company, we began to understand that when people are unable to save or invest, or don’t have access to the finer points of financial drivers like credit, lending and interest rate, they have a harder time translating income into wealth. Our goal is to make sure all SC employees have equal access to financial literacy and the knowledge and tools needed to build generational wealth and a successful future.“
Aditya added, “Not only do we want our employees to have access to a powerful financial education and empowerment program, we also believe this education will have a trickle-down benefit to our customers. When our employees are well-versed in financial drivers they are better able to assist customers when customers have questions about their accounts. So this program truly is a win-win.”
“Financial wellness is a foundational pillar of inclusion and one part of our desire to build a more inclusive and equitable workplace,“ explained Virnitia Hendricks, Chief Diversity Officer and Head of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI“) at SC. “When you provide economic inclusion and financial empowerment, you provide the opportunity to change lives. In addition to the HOPE Inside program, Santander Consumer‘s DEI Council will work to create mentorship programs, implement processes to increase minority hiring and more to keep the company moving in the direction of measurable and meaningful change.“
For 26 years Operation HOPE has served more than 2.8 million individuals and directed more than $2.7 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities. The HOPE Inside model received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine and provides financial literacy and economic empowerment programming to underserved communities throughout the country.
“Financial wellness is a crucial part of employee success and wholeness,“ said John Hope Bryant, Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman, and CEO. “ Santander is modeling what we believe to be the future of employee wellness in the workplace and is a forerunner in their industry. We are proud to partner with them as we work together to uplift and enrich individuals‘ and families‘ lives with financial empowerment through financial literacy.
About Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC) (“SC”) is a full-service consumer finance company focused on vehicle finance, third-party servicing and delivering superior service to our more than 3.1 million customers across the full credit spectrum. SC, which began originating retail installment contracts in 1997, had an average managed asset portfolio of approximately $63 billion (for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020), and is headquartered in Dallas. (www.santanderconsumerusa.com)
About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through our community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. Project 5117 is our multi-year four-pronged approach to combating economic inequality that aims to improve financial literacy, increase business role models and business internships for youth in underserved communities, and stabilize the American dream by boosting FICO scores. Operation HOPE recently received its seventh consecutive 4-star charity rating for fiscal management and commitment to transparency and accountability by the prestigious non-profit evaluator, Charity Navigator. For more information: www.OperationHOPE.org. Follow Operation HOPE on Twitter and Facebook @operationhope
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Santander US Media Relations
Laurie Kight
214.801.6455
mediarelations@santander.us
Operation HOPE
Ellen Peacock
404-455-5940
Ellen.Peacock@operationhope.org
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