Wells Fargo Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), announced that it has appointed Vanessa Rodriguez to lead Community Lending and Investment (CLI) within its Commercial Real Estate (CRE) group. Wells Fargo’s CLI group is one of the top investors in affordable, multifamily housing in the U.S., as well as an active lender for affordable housing projects. In this role, Rodriguez will oversee all debt and equity financing for multifamily affordable housing and community-oriented developments; Rodriguez will report to Kara McShane, head of Commercial Real Estate.
“Vanessa’s strong leadership skills, her industry expertise, and her passion for communities and giving, position her to run our top-ranked CLI platform and deepen our commitment to affordable housing solutions,” said Kara McShane, head of Commercial Real Estate at Wells Fargo. “Throughout her tenure at Wells Fargo, she has gained exceptional industry knowledge and built strong client relationships that will serve us well as we seek to strengthen the impact of our CLI platform and continue to support communities across the U.S.”
During her 20-year career with Wells Fargo, Rodriguez has held various relationship manager roles within Real Estate Banking, Commercial Banking, and Commercial Real Estate Workout. For the past five years, she has served as co-market manager of the greater San Francisco Bay Area within Real Estate Banking. Prior to that, she served as co-market manager for the New York region. She managed a total loan portfolio of approximately $8.5 billion, and has led many notable transactions, including Wells Fargo’s business development in Hudson Yards. Vanessa joined Wells Fargo in 2002 as a summer analyst, and completed the Credit Management Training Program in 2005.
“I’m excited to lead our CLI group, which is number one-ranked as an affordable housing investor and well regarded for providing economic development and affordable housing in communities of need, especially at a time when the need is greater than ever across the country,” said Rodriguez. “I look forward to working closely with Kara and her leadership team as we shape the future direction of our CRE platform to best serve our clients, and find meaningful ways to address the evolving needs of our communities.”
Rodriguez earned her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley, Haas School of Business
Wells Fargo Community Lending and Investment (CLI) specializes in offering debt and equity capital to organizations that provide economic development and affordable housing in communities of need nationwide. Primarily focused on economic redevelopment and housing development nationwide, it is one of the top investors in affordable, multifamily housing in the U.S., as well as an active lender for affordable housing projects. In 2020, CLI provided more than $4.9 billion in capital commitments via New Markets Tax Credits, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Community Development Financial Institutions, and construction lending.