Financial Inclusion for Immigrant Consumers:
Dallas Roundtable
For the third leg of the national effort to promote financial inclusion for immigrants, the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) teamed up with Network of Latino Credit Unions and Professionals (NLCUP), the Consulate General of Mexico in Dallas and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas to host a roundtable aimed at serving immigrants. As Federation staff touched down in Dallas, there was a palpable sense that Dallas was truly a city of immigrants.
Kicking off the roundtable was a festive reception hosted by the Consulate General of Mexico in Dallas where attendees got a chance to tour the facilities and see many clients that the consulate provides vital services to. On that particular day, many clients were presented with potential options for life insurance, medical services and English services. The Consulate’s staff feels credit unions can take advantage of wait time to engage with clients on financial education and all the products and services that a credit union can offer.
At the roundtable, a full house of nearly 70 attendees packed the Centennial Room of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where Alfreda Norman, Senior Vice President and Community Development Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, was joined by Pablo DeFilippi, Vice President of Membership and Business Development of the Federation, to frame the day's discussion. Our focus: the unprecedented opportunity to connect with immigrants and why all attendees, regardless of their interests, should do so served as a powerful reminder that resonated throughout the day’s activities.
The highlight of the roundtable was a lunch keynote presented by Pia Orrenius, Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Ms. Orrenius presented her research of Hispanic workers in the US labor market, which shows a significant pay gap for Hispanics relative to the rest of the Texas work force despite having the highest labor force participation ($0.54 earned by Hispanics for every $1 earned by non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks). To look deeper into the reasons for this divergence in wages, Ms. Orrenius ran a series of tests using regression analysis with a hypothesis that education is the key explanatory variable. Her research results indicated that, contrary to popular belief, ability to speak English was by far the largest explanatory variable in determining the poverty gap between Hispanics and the rest of the US population. Another key finding of Ms. Orrenius’ research was that the earning power of native Hispanics vs. immigrant Hispanics favored native Hispanics, underscoring the significance and benefits of obtaining US citizenship over the long run.
Many believe that education is the largest contributing factor in determining immigrants’ success in the US, but the chart above indicates that English language skills are a key determinant of earning power
The afternoon session of the roundtable was filled to the brim with innovative technologies that are relevant to immigrants; the highlight was presented by Jorge Jimenez and Robert Williams of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta who showcased their FedGlobal ACH Payments. One common denominator that was repeated through the afternoon session was the need for more accessibility, both for the end-user and the financial institutions that plug into these platforms. Many credit union attendees are well aware of headaches relating to remittance and wire services through conventional vendors. The FedGlobal platform is flexible and powerful. Other technology innovations that leverage the FedGlobal platform, such as WalletOn, puts the ability to send and receive money squarely in the hands of the end-user through their mobile phones: all that is needed is a credit union account to get the process started.
The afternoon panel showcased the success stories of credit unions serving immigrants, highlighted by Guadalupe Community Credit Union’s experience working with immigrants. Despite the reputation of being high-risk borrowers, Guadalupe’s impressive growth showed that success in serving immigrants is entirely possible and that a buy-in of all staff from the Board of Directors to the frontline tellers is the key to capturing this growing market.
As we came to the close of another successful roundtable many attendees were eager to make a splash and get started on serving immigrants. Buoyed by real-life examples and cutting edge technology that easily adapts to existing infrastructures, credit unions got a chance to see the scope and potential of this largely untapped market. Many nonprofit organizations already working with low-income immigrants got a chance to connect with credit unions that are passionate about serving immigrants. The Federation is grateful to NLCUP, the Consulate General of Mexico, the Federal Reserve of Dallas and the Annie E. Casey Foundation for supporting our work to promote financial inclusion. We look forward to the next roundtable in Tampa Bay in April to continue this critical conversation.
Pictured L to R: Maria Martinez, CEO, Border FCU; Oscar Bazoberry, CEO, WorldData; Dick Ensweiler, CEO Cornerstone CU League; José Octavio Tripp, General Consul of Mexico in Dallas; Francisco de la Torre, Executive Director, Institute of Mexicans Abroad, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Pablo DeFilippi, VP or Programs, Federation; Maria Arraya, Operations Coordinator, OAS, Ursula Rojas, General Consulate of Mexico, Dallas; Jorge Jimenez Director Product Development, FRB Atlanta; Matt Davies, Payments Outreach Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Roundtable Speakers
- María Antonieta Arraya, Operations Coordinator, OAS STAFF FCU
- Oscar Bazoberry, CEO, Worlddata
- Carlos Calderon, President and CEO, OAS STAFF FCU
- Luis Cervera, President, eMoneyPool
- Pablo DeFilippi, Vice President, Federation
- Francisco de la Torre, Executive Director for the Institute of Mexicans Abroad, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Jamie Goodson, Director, Division of Consumer Compliance Policy and Outreach - Office of Consumer Protection, NCUA
- Jorge Jimenez, Director Product Development, FedGlobal ACH, FRB Atlanta
- Annette LoVoi, Director, Appleseed
- Maria Martinez, President, NLCUP and Border Federal FCU
- Winona Nava, CEO, Guadalupe Community Credit Union
- Alfreda B. Norman, SVP and Community Development Officer, FRB Dallas
- Pia Orrenius, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
- Alejandra Seluja, Consultant, CU Breakthrough
- Ed Skelton, Economist, Financial Industry Studies, FRB Dallas
- Robert Williams, Director Product Development, FRB Atlanta
Program
March 18, 2015
6:00 pm: Reception at Mexican Consulate in Dallas
March 19, 2015
8:00 am: Registration and Security Check
8:30 am: Breakfast
8:45 am: Welcome
- Alfreda Norman, Senior Vice President and Community Development Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
9:00 am : The Imperative and Opportunity to Serve Immigrant Populations
- Moderator: Carlos Calderon, President & CEO, OAS STAFF FCU
- Maria Martinez, President NLCUP & Border Federal FCU
- Pablo DeFilippi, VP National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions
9:30 am: Strategies to Bring Immigrants into the Financial Mainstream
- Alfreda B. Norman, SVP, Community Development, FRB Dallas
- Francisco de la Torre, Executive Director for the Institute of Mexicans Abroad, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs
10:30 am: Coffee Break
10:45 am: Responding to the Executive Order: Unique Opportunity to Link Immigrants to the Financial Mainstream
- Pablo DeFilippi, VP Membership and Business Development National Federation of CDCUs
11:30 am: The Regulatory Framework: Dodd-Frank 1073, PATRIOT Act and Other Considerations
- Moderator: Annette LoVoi, Director, Appleseed
- Jamie Goodson, Director, Division of Consumer Compliance Policy and Outreach - Office of Consumer Protection, NCUA
12:30 pm: Lunch Speaker
- Pia Orrenius, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
1:30 pm: Maximizing the Federal Reserve Financial Services: FedGlobal ACH, P2P ACH, reporting and risk tools
- Jorge Jimenez, Director Product Development, FRB Atlanta
- Robert Williams, Director Product Development, FRB Atlanta
3:00 pm: Break
3:15 pm: New Solutions for International Payments: User Experience and Solutions
- Moderator: SWACHA
- María Antonieta Arraya, Operations Coordinator, OAS STAFF FCU
- Oscar Bazoberry, CEO, Worlddata
4:15 pm: Beyond Remittances: Lending Opportunities and Asset Building Tools
- Moderator: Pablo DeFilippi, National Federation of CDCUs
- Citizenship Lending: Alejandra Seluga, CU Breakthrough
- ITIN Lending: Winona Nava, CEO, Guadalupe Community CU
- Lending Circles: Luis Cervera, President, eMoneyPool
5:15 pm: Conference Adjourned
5:30 pm: NLCUP Board Meeting
Click here for the event's presentations.
Thank You to Our Partners:
For more information about this roundtable, please contact Jason Chang at jchang@inclusiv.org.