A Look at the Growth of General Motors Acceptance Corporation

As a Principal of Wilmington Capital Securities/RBC, Derek Bryson Park, PhD, possesses more than 25 years of experience. Over the course of his career, Derek Bryson Park has served in leadership positions with a number of organizations, including Cohane Rafferty Securities/Lehman Brothers, where he was responsible for securing the 1998 sale of Wells Fargo Mortgage Bank to General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC).

Through their respective captive finance companies, the nation's top automakers, including General Motors, have historically been among the leading nonbank providers of consumer credit in the United States. While these financing arms were largely created to facilitate the sale of the parent company's primary products and associated services, many diversified their offerings to include financial services outside of the auto industry. An example of this diversification can be found in GMAC, which was founded in 1919. 

The diversification of GMAC began in 1925, when the entity began offering auto-related insurance. However, one of the biggest changes in the company occurred decades later, in the mid-1980s, when GMAC entered the mortgage servicing business by forming GMAC Mortgage Corporation. 

Following the acquisition of Colonial Mortgage Service Company and Norwest Corporation's loan-servicing portfolio, GMAC Mortgage Corporation quickly became one of the largest mortgage servicers in the United States. GMAC Mortgage's growth continued through the 1990s, a decade that the company capped off with the acquisition of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Service and the purchase of Wells Fargo Mortgage Bank. 

GMAC Mortgage went on to acquire Ditech Funding Corp. and to form California mortgage lender CalDirect. In 2010, GMAC transformed into Ally Financial, which continues to provide home loans and a number of other financial services.

Sights and Artifacts at the Gibraltar Museum

Between 2013 and 2016, Derek Bryson Park, PhD, served as a managing director of Forefront Wealth Management, a money management firm based in New York, NY. Prior to his stint at Forefront, Park gained extensive experience working for Mahler and Emerson, Inc., and Lehman Brothers. Outside of work, Derek Bryson Park enjoys traveling abroad, and has been to more than 50 international destinations, including Gibraltar.

Located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, Gibraltar is a small British overseas territory that covers an area of only 6.8 square kilometers. As a tourist destination, Gibraltar is known for its natural beauty as well as landmarks such as the Upper Rock Nature Reserve and St. Michael's Cave. In addition, Gibraltar houses historical treasures in the Gibraltar Museum, located on Bomb House Lane. 

The Gibraltar Museum reveals the island's long history, from prehistoric Gibraltar to the Great Siege of the 18th century. Significant artifacts include 14th-century Islamic baths and a 7th-century BCE Egyptian mummy found washed up on the island's bay in the 19th century.

NYC Commission on Human Rights Ensures Equal Access for PWDs

A recipient of a PhD in international and developmental administration from New York University, Derek Bryson Park has had an extensive career as an executive for companies such as Lehman Brothers and Forefront Wealth Management. Between 2002 and 2014, Derek Bryson Park served as the commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights in New York, NY.

The New York City Commission on Human Rights serves as the executive arm that enforces the NYC Human Rights Law, considered to be one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws in the entire country. In fulfilling its mission, the commission ensures that discrimination based on race, color, religion, or gender shall not be permitted in employment, housing, or public accommodations.

One aspect of the commission's anti-discrimination campaign is ensuring equal access to public facilities among people with disabilities (PWDs). The commission works with housing providers, small enterprises, and employers to ensure that they will provide enough accommodation for PWDs in order to avoid discrimination. Examples of such accommodations include the building of ramps, enhancing bathroom accessibility, and permitting service animals.

FHLBNY Reissues a New Charter in 2002

 

Residing in New York, NY, Derek Bryson Park works at Forefront Wealth Management as its managing director. Using his PhD from New York University to solve critical investment challenges for clients at Forefront Wealth Management, Derek Bryson Park works to optimize the investor experience by providing solutions that can be easily implemented. Derek Bryson Park was also appointed by the Clinton Administration 1999 and reappointed in 2000 to serve a full three-year term as a Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY).

Created in 1932, the FHLBNY passed a resolution in 2002 to support the NY Bank’s efforts to fund a $1 billion bond issued to the disaster recovery caused by the September 11th World Trade Center attacks. Unfortunately, the Bank’s original 1932 charter – kept at its offices at 7 World Trade Center – were also lost in the attacks. Commemorating FHLBNY’s 70th anniversary, the Finance Board reissued a new charter, originally signed into law on July 22, 1932 by former US president Herbert Hoover.

Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act Prevents Credit Checks

Forefront Wealth Management managing director Derek Bryson Park, PhD, possesses more than three decades of experience in financial banking and state government sectors. Derek Bryson Park has also previously served out appointments by the Giuliani and Bloomberg Administrations as a commissioner for the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYC Human Rights). NYC Human Rights operates a number of campaigns to protect the rights of New York City residents, including the Credit Check Law.

The campaign promotes the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act, which prevents most NY employers from using credit scores as a factor in making employment decisions. It bars employers from checking the credit history of applicants and encourages individuals in the process of seeking employment to learn about their rights. Furthermore, the campaign provides access to employees, job seekers, and employers about their rights and responsibilities under the law. 

New York’s Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act went into effect on September 3, 2015 as a part of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. 

To learn more about the campaign, visit nyc.gov/site/cchr/media/credit-check-law.

Free Workshops through the New York City Commission on Human Rights

In 1999, Forefront Wealth Management managing director Derek Bryson Park, PhD, accepted an appointment by the Clinton Administration to serve as director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. Outside of his professional obligations in the finance and government sectors, Derek Bryson Park, PhD, previously worked for the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYC Human Rights), which offers a variety of community programs and services, such as free workshops in the New York, NY, area. 

Workshops hosted by the NYC Human Rights enable its staff to work closely with organizations across the state to promote awareness of the NYC Human Rights Law. The staff assists with free events and provides training that focuses on educating organization members and staff on their rights and obligations under the administrative code. Training sessions cover a wide range of human rights topics, including transgender awareness, cyberbullying, violence, and sexual harassment. Additionally, workshops explore the Fair Chance and Credit Check provisions of the law. 

NYC Human Rights also offers frequent training sessions on the Human Rights Law for employers, housing providers, business owners, and other individuals in a supervisory or service-providing position. Interested individuals must RSVP in advance in order to secure a place at a session.

Why Foodieism Elicits Such Disdain among Privileged Class Pursuits

 

Before assuming the role of managing director at Forefront Wealth Management, LLC, in New York, NY, Dr. Derek Bryson Park received his MPA and PhD in international and developmental administration from New York University. He also served in executive capacities at organizations such as Lehman Brothers Inc., Cohane Rafferty Securities LLC; and Mahler & Emerson, Inc. (an affiliate of Brean Murray, Carret & Co., LLC). An avid foodie, Dr. Derek Bryson Park explores different cuisines from various cultures in his free time.

A professor of philosophy at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Susan Wolf has discussed what it means to be a foodie in a world where non-foodies are reluctant to accept foodieism. Being a foodie revolves around enjoying fine cuisine and creating food at home with meticulously curated ingredients.

Dr. Wolf thinks that the discomfort of being a foodie stems from the idea that foodieism represents an investment that makes light of other people’s lack of sustenance and resources. Aside from that, foodies are thought to be snobbish by giving the impression that they think others cannot distinguish one variety of food from another.

In truth, other sects of the privileged class are into more expensive hobbies than foodies, yet they don’t elicit as much disdain. Dr. Wolf posits that it may be because food is universal; while attending concerts and operas is not necessarily comparable to others’ activities, what foodies do is.

Spending on a hobby is fine, but foodies receive more judgment because their discerning tastes revolve around food, which is a basic need. However, this looks too much like a double standard, considering that individuals who appreciate opera, for example, aren’t necessarily snobs. In both instances, people simply have an interest in which they wish to invest. Having said that, Dr. Wolf would want those who would spend $100 on a meal rather than on someone who really needs it to give pause to such inclinations.