Latino Outreach Coalition presents Fiscal Responsibility Program

The Latino Outreach Coalition presented on Thursday, March 29^th at the Village of Woodridge Community Resourvce Center.  The topic was Fiscal Responsibility. Holly Vasseur, Branch Manager of First Bank of Bolingbrook did an excellent job delivering the program. 

Our attendance was as follows:

• 36 Adults
• 49 Children

Teri Vasile and Susan Pierce did a great job delivering our Youth Component of the program and our 5 high school girls did an outstanding job taking care of our ‘many’ little children!  Child care has been one of the changes we have instituted as a result of the feed back from our parents (on ‘how can we improve the programs’).

According to a 2006 article Financial Literacy in the Hispanic Community in the National Society for Hispanic Professionals, the rapidly increasing Hispanic population in the U.S. generates billions of dollars every year.  Latino households do not invest as much on healthcare, entertainment, education, personal insurance and pensions. In addition, different sources estimate that about half of the Hispanic population in the U.S. is unbanked.  In fact, many attribute Latinos’ lag in home ownership, healthcare coverage, and savings for education and retirement to lack of knowledge or financial literacy.

This disparity in access to and familiarity with financial services seems to vary slightly by generation and/or income levels. A 2005 survey by Roper Public Affairs revealed that the majority of middle-age Hispanics with household incomes of at least $45,000 says that they are financially successful; however, around a third of them still say they need help making financial decisions. According to a special report from the American Banker, Hispanics are least likely to invest in stocks or mutual funds, even at relatively high income levels.

Housing policy analysts agree that Latinos are more likely to choose a home mortgage provider by relationship, rather than by price. This tendency combined with their nontraditional credit backgrounds direct them to sub prime lending products.

Besides good know-how in home buying and investing, Latinos tend to favor check-cashing and money transfer stores more than traditional banking institutions. Banks have made modest efforts to enter this market and to attract Latino customers for years. A major U.S. bank says that about half of the organization’s new Hispanic clients first visited one of their locations to use a remittance service.

Financial literacy empowers Latinos with financial and economic knowledge, thus moving them into the U.S. Financial services mainstream.

Be sure to join us on May 10^th for the next Latino Outreach Coalition Program at Murphy School!

	Pictures from the event