Immigrant Banking & Emerging Markets

A century ago immigrants to America were the Italians, Irish, Polish, Germans, Greeks, and Chinese, and many nationalities and religious groups seeking opportunity in the US. Over time these groups established communities in NYC, Chicago, St Louis, and San Francisco, cities often referred to as Gateway Cities where immigrant groups began communities before moving on to larger cities where opportunities in labor were abundant.

Gradually these immigrant groups spread across the US and planted community roots, eventually realizing that as their successes increased so too did their need for a bank that understood their culture and needs. They started and grew great institutions over the last 100 years, a cycle that is beginning to repeat itself.

Today the growth market in banking services is being driven by the large influx of Hispanic's, particularly, Central & South Americans, as well as Latvians or Russians, Nigerians, South Africans, Salvadorians and Czechoslovakians, folks who have a burning desire within to succeed in America. So banks that appeal to these market sectors are now forming in many communities across America, proving once again that the niche bank is part of the fabric of financial institutions within our great country.

Articles

2008 ICBA Community Bank Survey: Serving Emerging Markets The purpose of this survey is to learn more about the efforts of community banks to reach emerging markets such as recent immigrants, ethnic communities and other groups who may be outside of the financial mainstream.

Supporting Minority National Banks - Remarks by John C. Dugan, Comptroller of the Currency, Before the Interagency Minority Depository Institutions National Conference, Chicago I'm delighted to have this opportunity to talk to you today about the challenges and opportunities facing minority-owned banks in the United States. Both before and during my term as Comptroller, I've learned just how important minority-owned national banks are to the communities they serve. You know the needs of your customers, and you tailor services to meet those needs.

New York's immigrants stranded by banks Banks' early eagerness to serve New Yorkers is plain to see in the hundreds of branches on street corners in many parts of the city. When it comes to immigrant neighborhoods, however, it's a far different story.

Supervisory Insights, Linking International Remittance Flows to Financial Services: Tapping the Latino Immigrant Market The flow of immigrants from a number of countries continues to shape the economic and demographic makeup of communities across the United States. Recent rapid growth and the overall size of the immigrant population from Latin American countries, in particular, have increased this group's political and economic influence. As a result, the U.S. banking industry is becoming keenly aware of the significant business potential that the Latino market represents.

Financial Access for Immigrants: Lessons From Diverse Perspectives The United States has long benefited from the aspirations, talents, and hard work of the many immigrants who have settled here. Each generation has debated the costs of immigration and its benefits and grappled with how best to incorporate immigrants into U.S. society.

Credit, capital and community: informal banking in turn-of-the-century immigrant communities in the United States, 1880-1924 By the 1990s, the social and cultural history of banking has become one of the more active and exciting areas of research within the general field of business history.

Reaching Immigrant Markets Do you know who the new Americans are in your neighborhoods? Although immigrant communities have historically concentrated in certain cities, over the past decade they have emerged as growing populations throughout the United States.

Best Practices in Immigrant Lending Some 1 million new Americans arrive on our shores every year to join the 33 million other immigrants who are making America their home. These men, women and children, families, entrepreneurs, skilled workers, laborers and professionals require banking services to help them make a home here, and banks and financial institutions are gaining proficiency in meeting their financial needs.

The Business of Immigrant Markets: Providing Access to Financial Services Business opportunities serving the immigrant market will explode in coming years as America's newest residents become major customers for financial, housing and small-business development services.

Banking on Remittances Immigrants in the United States represent a large and growing market for financial institutions, not only in traditional ports of entry such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Miami, but also in newly emerging gateway cities across the U.S., including Dalton, Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee.

Reaching The Immigrant Market: Creating Banking and Homeownership Opportunities For New Americans Reaching the Immigrant Market A Strategic Business Planning Workbook.

Housing and Homeownership The third session focused on homeownership among immigrants and its importance for long-term wealth accumulation. Sherrie Kossoudji, associate professor of social work at the University of Michigan, began by citing her research with Stan Sedo, also of the University of Michigan, on homeownership as an indicator of wealth.

Immigrant financial market participation: Defining the research Questions The strong growth of the immigrant population in recent years, coupled with their lower average income and educational levels, makes financial access an issue of broad concern. A national conference in April 2004 aims to encourage policy-oriented research and to identify public-private partnerships that can help bring the foreign born into U.S. financial markets.

The Rise of New Immigrant Gateways The U.S. foreign-born population grew 57.4 percent in the 1990s; by 2000 nearly onethird of U.S. immigrants resided outside established settlement states. Thirteen states primarily in the West and Southeast-including many that had not previously been major destinations for immigrants-saw foreign-born growth rates more than double the national average. These states included, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina.

Financial Access for Immigrants: Learning from Diverse Perspectives The U.S. immigrant population grew by an unprecedented 57 percent between 1990 and 2000. One in nine current U.S. residents was born abroad. The 1990s also brought changes in immigrant settlement patterns, with movements away from traditional destinations toward areas that experienced litle immigration over the last century.

Linking International Remittance Flows to Financial Services: Tapping the Latino Immigrant Market The flow of immigrants from a number of countries continues to shape the economic and demographic makeup of communities across the United States. Recent rapid growth and the overall size of the immigrant population from Latin American countries, in particular, have increased this group's political and economic influence. As a result, the U.S. banking industry is becoming keenly aware of the significant business potential that the Latino market represents.

Latino Immigrant Access to Financial Institutions Community Resource Group, The Appleseed Foundation and four Appleseed Center, Chicago, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas Appleseed, have worked for the past two years setting the groundwork for a major initiative to improve the access of Latino immigrants to formal banking services.

Meeting the Financial Service Needs of Mexican Immigrants This report is generously supported by grants from the Annie E. Casey and Ford Foundations. We would also like to thank all of the financial institutions, organizations, and individuals who gave us their time in helping us understand all of the issues involved in serving a new community. The Appleseed Foundation provided invaluable guidance and support in conducting this study.

Qualitative Study of the Banking Experiences of Latino Immigrants in Texas Latino immigrants in Texas have historically encountered many barriers in accessing the banking industry, a problem that mitigates their successful integration into mainstream America.

Perspectives The Mexican-immigrant population in Texas has grown significantly in the past decade-107 percent, according to the 2000 census. Mexican immigrants come to the United States seeking decent wages for hard work and a better life.