Banks that want to reach the Hispanic community find daunting challenges with the Patriot Act’s customer documentation and anti-money laundering mandates, combined with often conflicting FDIC regulations. Then there is the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) which requires banks to proactively identify the different socioeconomic groups in their communities, and to develop plans to help further economic growth for those communities through loans, investment, and services. However, the CRA is not a ‘how-to’ manual, and so for many banks there is an impasse.
The good news is that there are banks moving beyond outreach. In Santa Rosa, California, 50 miles north of San Francisco, Exchange Bank has joined a community it wishes to serve. Exchange Bank is a 117 year-old community bank with the vision to put the only standalone bank branch in an area called Roseland, the heart of the highest Hispanic population section of Santa Rosa. That building is a statement saying, “We want to be included in your community, and to include you into our business mission.”
Wanda Tapia, president of the Santa Rosa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, believes that Exchange Bank’s initiatives are important to the local Hispanic community. “Many of the folks are new here and may not have the mobility that we take for granted. Having that bank branch in their neighborhood is very important to them. And now other businesses are saying, ‘We should be there, too.’”
Exchange Bank also encourages its employees to actively volunteer in the Hispanic community, including volunteering to teach English and personal finance in community centers; the manager of the Roseland branch also serves on the executive board of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Tapia makes it clear, “There is no question of commitment when they take the time to be involved in the community.”
The third area of commitment is Exchange Bank’s investment in new bank products developed for the Hispanic community. One program centers around a payroll deposit card that allows unbanked Hispanic workers to enjoy many of the benefits of a bank account, and frees them from high-cost check cashing stores to cash their pay checks and to send money to family in their home countries. A key component of that program is its path-to-banking mission, which has also been successful. Barrie Graham, president and CEO of Exchange Bank explains, “Launching this new product is part of our effort to reach our region's growing Hispanic community. The payroll deposit card is helping our commercial customers to help their employees.” Exchange Bank is not practicing simple outreach, this is Hispanic Inclusion.
On the other side of the country, First American Bank and Trust has found another path to Inclusion. With eight branches in and around Athens, Georgia, 60 miles east of Atlanta, that 78 year-old community bank created a separately-branded bank branch called El Banco de la Oportunidad. Bobby Heath, president of First American Bank explains, “We tried the usual approaches of using bilingual tellers, signage, and deposit slips, but found they didn’t create the comfort level needed for establishing a relationship with an English-speaking bank. The message back to us was that we needed a more complete approach, making the whole family feel comfortable.”
That realization led to creating a separate trade-name bank that is integrated into the bank’s regular operations. The result is a bank branch that feels more like a community center than a bank. The branch, located next to a grocery store and laundromat, includes a children’s play area; the bank even encourages people to bring their kids to play while waiting for their laundry to get done. Another important touch is the community room for Hispanic groups to use for training and community meetings. The bank is available to their traditional customers, and so in many ways it serves as a center for community melding. Opened in April 2005, the branch was planned to take three years until profitable operation and is ahead of expectations.
The banking industry must now look to examples like Exchange Bank, First American Bank and Trust with their El Banco de la Oportunidad, and others who are making commitment to serve their communities by being part of those communities. The message is clear: creating the greatest economic good can only be achieved once we move beyond outreach. The time has come for banks to move to Hispanic Inclusion.
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Chris Lamela specializes in banking services for unbanked consumers. He can be reached at 707-566-8790, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 

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