Stern & Associates, Llc

As managing partner of Stern & Associates, L.L.C, Marta Stern has provided expert consulting services to California financial institutions since 1990. The firm specializes in commercial loan reviews, and customized compliance and risk management programs. Ms. Stern has 30+ years of industry experience, and has served as a compliance officer and as board secretary at two mid-sized financial institutions. She pioneered award-winning “financial literacy” programs in the 1990s, and her updated programs meet the latest CRA community development tests for banks under $1 billion. For more than a decade, Ms. Stern authored a bi-monthly newsletter, Compliance in a Nutshell, a must-read for busy bankers. Jon Hainer and Marta Stern co-authored the Commercial Loan Review and Audit Manual published by Sheshunoff in 2005 and updated by the authors semi-annually. This writing team is currently working on a commercial lending training and certification manual. Ms. Stern and Mr. Hainer are also presenting, on behalf of Pratt & Co, nationwide audio seminars for bankers on the worldwide stress testing requirements mandated by the Basel Committee. An accomplished pianist, Marta earned her degree in music and also had a double major in business administration and psychology at C.S.U.L.A. The mother of five (including three stepchildren), she currently resides with her husband Milton and four dogs (if you count two tiny Yorkshire terriers).