Programs, Banks Working to Bring Hispanics into Financial System Officials say everybody wins when immigrants start using bank services

Washington — Hispanics have a growing presence in all facets of American life. But they are still rare in bank lobbies. It is a situation that various leaders are trying to change.
U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral is among them. Cabral, whose grandparents immigrated from Mexico, works under the secretary of the Treasury, looking after the production of coins and currency and educating the public on money matters. She said immigrants from Latin America, like newcomers from other regions, are less likely than the rest of the population to have bank accounts, pay into retirement funds or get bank loans to purchase a house.
Typically, this is due to a lack of familiarity with banking services, language problems and a lack of trust. "A lot of Latinos come from countries where financial institutions are not necessarily sound," Cabral told America.gov.
Her office has stepped up efforts to spread financial literacy. The challenge is finding "more interesting and compelling ways" to educate, she said. Recently, the treasurer's office began working with the biggest producer of Spanish-language television soap operas in the United States, the Telemundo Network, to develop ways to insert information about personal banking alongside the themes of love, riches and adultery that are commonly found in soap opera plots.