Lawrence H. Parks

Co-founder of
Forethought Advisors

Co-founder of Forethought Advisors

Lawrence H. Parks (Larry) is a co-founder of Forethought Advisors – an advocacy, lobbying and strategic corporate solutions firm – specializing in financial services.
Prior to establishing Forethought Advisors Mr. Parks was Senior Vice President, External and Legislative Affairs for the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBSF). In that position, Mr. Parks worked with Congress, the Administration, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, member financial institutions, national housing and community development advocates as well as local business and civic organizations to shape the future legislative, regulatory, and policy environment in which the Bank operates. While a senior officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, Mr. Parks, in legislation and in regulation, drafted and had implemented provisions that built new lines of business for the Bank. Mr. Parks established the FHLB as a thought leader in the secondary market activities and bridging the needs of banks and communities. To that end, in 2017, Mr. Parks developed and implemented a $100 million fund whereby the Bank provided at risk capital through intermediaries for small business lending and job training organizations – in an attempt to address the growing inequality gap.
In 2018, Mr. Parks’ outstanding advocacy on behalf of its secondary market institutions that provided liquidity primarily to community-based lenders was noted in a House resolution from then Ranking Member Maxine Waters and the Congressional Black Caucus Members of the House Financial Services Committee.
Prior to joining the FHLBSF, Mr. Parks was a Senior Advisor and Director of Strategic Regional Growth and Finance for the Department of Commerce. He was the Secretary of Commerce’s chief policy advisor on regional growth, economic development, minority business and finance issues. In this capacity, he led the Clinton Administration’s effort to revitalize the California economy by creating partnerships between business entities, non-profits and the federal government to expand businesses and grow jobs in California, particularly defense contractors seeking to commercialize and export their products abroad. He served on the White House’s National Economic Council and Domestic Policy Council.
Prior to work with the Clinton Administration, Mr. Parks was the Associate Legislative Counsel and Director at the Mortgage Bankers’ Association. Mr. Parks was also counsel to the Senate Banking Committee’s Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee, where he was the primary staff author of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) reforms that made CRA and HMDA information public. While counsel on the Senate Banking Committee, he also established in law the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) of Federal Home Loan Banks.
Mr. Parks has served on two Presidential Transition Teams at the Department of Commerce. For the Obama Administration he was selected as the co-lead for the International Trade Administration at the Department of Commerce. For the Clinton Administration, Mr. Parks reviewed contracts, pending regulatory actions and authored key sections of the transition report on the Economic Development and Minority Business Administration at the Department of Commerce. In addition, he structured the Office of the Secretary of Commerce.
He was judicial clerk to the Honorable James Giles, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Temple University and a graduate of Yale Law School.