The story is normally the same if you were to ask a Spanish speaking person what they
know about financial products and what kind of access they have had in their life to them. The
sad truth will be nothing as an answer to both of those questions and the little they know is not
enough to make them feel confident in their financial decisions. I could focus on explaining how
to fix the problem now and how to provide the support that this community needs but it is
important to know a little history to get a clear picture of what life is really like now and what it
has been like.
I recently interviewed my mother Bertha Buenrostro who arrived in the United States in
1990, who to this day does not speak fluent English. Bertha shared with me that in Mexico she
never had access to any financial products and everything was dealt with in cash. Upon arriving
in the United States that did not change. Her first checking account was opened by Bank of
America about 5 years later as a requirement in order for the home loan to get approved. As our
conversation progressed she said that she does not think that things are much different now for
the Hispanic Community. She said “a los bancos no les importa ayudar a los Hispanos” (Bertha
Buenrostro). The banks do not care to help the Hispanics is what she said. I asked her this last
question: How different would your life have been if you would have had access to more
financial services? “I would have taken some cake decorating classes. Remember how I
taught myself to decorate and I was always a good baker. Well, I always wanted to take some
classes but we could never afford it. I think that if I could have gotten a small loan I could have
done the classes.”(translated from Spanish, quote by Bertha Buenrostro).
The story does not vary much from what you read above. No access to financial
products in their home country, no access to products here because of the language barrier.
Cash still rules this community and the lack of access to financial products though it might be
better, it still is not accessible by those who need it. The biggest barrier…LANGUAGE. There
are not enough financial institutions that provide assistance in Spanish. And some of the ones
that do provide it have created roadblocks with the choices of marketing and improper training
for the Spanish speaking employees.
The products and services that are offered to the Spanish speaking community do not
have to change but the way that it is marketed does. One mistake financial institutions make is
the use of formally translated Spanish. The majority of the Spanish speaking community does
not communicate in that way and therefore the message will not be understood by the greater
audience that you want to reach. Instead of the community feeling supported and understood,
the choice of too formal wording can make them feel apprehensive and will lose trust before
they even walk in your door. This is a community that values in person interactions and wants
to be helped in their language. Having the right staff at every step of the way that speaks the
language is important. Let me tell you a quick story to bring this to perspective.
I was having a conversation with a friend one day about this subject and I was told that
when she went into a credit union the employee even though they spoke Spanish made them
feel unsupported and worse than when they came in. The reason was simple. The person that
helped them kept telling her oh it’s easy just follow this guide (English). And it’s not hard to do,
just go online and do this. And the last one…I am going to refer you over to someone else that
can help you with the subject we were speaking about (person only speaks English). In
multiple ways her needs were not catered to.
When I was a banker many years ago I was the top banker in my district. I was in a
predominantly Spanish speaking area. My business came from referrals. It took a couple of
customers and all of a sudden every person in the lobby was there to see me. Yes it took me
longer to help them as I had to take extra time to walk them through everything and assist them
very closely. But I was rewarded with friends and family coming to see me. Why? Because I
had built their trust. I had catered to them, in their language. And I benefited from the rewards.
Having access to financial services would make a huge impact on the Hispanic
community who speaks Spanish. Credit Unions are aligned to be able to make that impact.
With a little planning and work we can build better financial communities.
