Banco Popular North America Commemorates the Hispanic Federation's Fifteen Years of Dedicated Service

Banco Popular North America Commemorates the Hispanic Federation's Fifteen Years of Dedicated Service

- Benefit Premiere of Groundbreaking Film, Viva Baseball To Mark Celebration -

NEW YORK, Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Banco Popular North America, one of the nation's premier community banks and top ten small business administration lenders, today announced its sponsorship participation in the Hispanic Federation's celebration of fifteen years of dedicated service with the benefit premiere of Viva Baseball, a documentary film.

Banco Popular North America joins the Hispanc Federation's celebration by serving as a Presenting Sponsor of Viva Baseball. Viva Baseball, a groundbreaking film directed by Dan Klores and narrated by Marc Anthony, illustrates the love, struggles and triumphs of baseball in Latin America and the remarkable role Latinos have played in transforming America's favorite pastime. Through the personal tales of legendary players like Minnie Minoso, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Clemente and others, the film portrays a stirring and heartrending journey that highlights the sacrifices and contributions pioneering Latino legends made to open the doors for present day Latino players.

"We are honored to be a part of the Hispanic Federation's celebration and Banco Popular salutes their efforts and commitment to serve the Latino community," said Michele Imbasciani, New York Region Executive for Banco Popular North America. "Their mission to strengthen and develop institutions that advance the quality of life of Latinos is a vision we share, and strongly support."

Founded in 1990, the Hispanic Federation represents 90 Latino human and health service agencies that serve more than 1,000,000 Latinos in the tri-state region of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania in the areas of education, health, elderly services, childcare, HIV/AIDS, housing, economic development and much more.

"We are honored to present a film that tells the untold stories of America's favorite pastime. Our Latino players have contributed and continue to contribute greatly to this sport. Their efforts and successes deserve to be recognized," said Lillian Rodriguez-Lopez, President of the Hispanic Federation.

The benefit premiere of Viva Baseball will take place on Monday, September 19 and SpikeTV will air the documentary on September 23 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT).

The Hispanic Federation was founded in 1990 to strengthen, support, and develop institutions that advance the quality of life of the Latino community. Today, the Hispanic Federation represents 90 Latino human and health service agencies that serve more than 1,000,000 Latinos in the tri-state region of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania in the areas of education, health, elderly services, childcare, HIV/AIDS, housing, economic development, and much more. No other non-profit in the Northeast brings together organizations representing every major segment of the region's diverse and growing Latino community. For more information on the Hispanic Federation call (212) 233-8955, or visit their website: http://www.hispanicfederation.org/.

Banco Popular is a subsidiary of Popular, Inc. with more than $44 billion in assets, and is ranked among the country's 30 largest bank holding companies. Popular, Inc. was named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2005 by Fortune Magazine and ranks among the top 10 Small Business Administration lenders in the country. Visit http://www.bancopopular.com/

Source: Banco Popular North America

CONTACT: Juan Carlos Cruz of Banco Popular North America, +1-847-994-6442, jccruz@bpop.com

Web site: http://www.bancopopular.com/ http://www.hispanicfederation.org/

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