There is an article in Independent Bankers about "BANK RACE FOR THE UN-BANKED" talking about different general ways to gain the trust of Hispanics. I am looking for different tactics to help them trust and understand how we can help service them. Any ideas on what to do or any success through, promotions, teaching, sponsoring?

Why don't you ask this question of a Hispanic group, a church, LULAC or Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for examples.

Andy has a good suggestion. One way my bank has attempted to reach unbanked Hispanics is to partner with the Workforce Commission to teach the FDIC's BankSmart program. Although the impact has been small (avg of 2 complete training sessions is about 15).

check out www.hispanicbankmarketing.com

I just attended a train the trainer seminar by the FDIC on the Money Smart program. It was done at another bank and the 2 of us were the only financial institutions. The other attendees were members of the Mexican Consulate and representatives of advocate groups for Mexican immigrants and other groups geared towards the advancement of Hispanics. I thought it was very interesting.

I think working with the Workforce Commission is a great idea. I haven't implemented the program yet. I was thinking of advertising in the local paper. Have you tried that yet? I think maybe I'll get in contact with local assistance programs like the Community Action or the Dept of Health and Human Services. Thanks.

We have Spanish speaking CSRs at all 7 of our locations. People are more comfortable when they can speak to someone in their native language. Sometimes, the meaning of words are lost when translated so we make sure we have at least one person per branch that speaks Spanish fluently.

Be aware of any state laws that may apply. In California, if loan negotiations are done in Spanish, Chinese, Korean Vietnamese or Tagalog, written disclosures have to be provided in those languages (unless they have an adult interpreter with them, who is not a bank employee).