Access to Financial Services

Overview

While income from work remains key to the economic progress of Latinos, assets and financial wealth, which are built and improved through savings and checking accounts, stocks, bonds, and homeownership, have become increasingly important to ensuring the long-term financial security of families.

Many Latino families have not made the leap from depending on wages, and consequently have been left behind in the new asset-based economy. Low levels of wealth and higher levels of poverty reflect financial instability among Latino families, many of whom continue to live from paycheck to paycheck with little security against unexpected job losses or wage reductions.

Furthermore, the number of unbanked Latinos without access to basic financial services proves there is a significant need in the community. In one survey, 35% of Latinos reported that they did not have a bank account, and that number rises to 42% for foreign-born Latinos. As a result, fringe-banking providers, such as check cashers, have proliferated in communities where Latinos work and reside.

NCLR’s Position

Enabling Latino families to participate fully in the financial services market requires the effective removal of barriers to wealth accumulation, such as valid identification; the provision of incentives to build wealth, including savings and investments programs that target low- and moderate-income families; and the protection of assets to reign in unscrupulous players in the marketplace. NCLR has addressed many of these issues by playing an active role in legislative and regulatory issues, such as the use of the matricula consular and Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) and access to affordable credit and credit report information.

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