Stephen Spears built a career in financial services after earning a finance degree from Western Michigan University in 1991. He joined St. Paul-based Bremer two years ago in a senior leadership capacity. Initially, he was charged with assessing how the bank could implement its equity action plan. One way is by providing services through a new branch that opened recently on Lake Street in Minneapolis; Spears and Bremer are focused on serving BIPOC entrepreneurs and businesses in the diverse neighborhood. Beyond supporting commerce, he says, Bremer will help neighborhood residents increase “homeownership, which certainly we know brings wealth to families.”

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