Making a conscious effort to better serve our Latino communities
Latino communities are the largest contributors to U.S. population growth, and among the hardest hit by the ongoing impacts of inflation.
Overall, U.S. adults and their families report a decline in financial well-being over the past year, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s latest Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making (SHED) report. The Fed’s survey also revealed that higher prices have negatively affected most households.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report earlier this year showing that inflation has a greater impact on people of color and low to middle-income workers.
While inflation has slowly cooled off over the past twelve months and some households will find relief and recovery, Latino households are among the many who will continue to feel the lasting effects.
What is your credit union doing to serve Latino households within your community? If this is a question you haven’t explored yet, now is the time to do so.
Latinos are the largest contributor to U.S. population and economic growth.
According to UCLA’s Latino Policy & Politics Institute, as of 2021, the U.S. Latino population reached 62.5M and accounted for 19% of the U.S. population. The Latino population is projected to increase to 111.2 million by 2060, at which time it will make up 28% of the U.S. population overall.
Growth in the Latino population isn’t just a border state phenomenon. States not commonly thought of as having a significant Latino population have seen explosive growth, especially in the South and Midwest, including North Dakota (a 333% increase) and Kentucky (233%). Even states that saw little population growth, or a decline in their overall population, continued to see significant growth in their Latino community.
This population growth will also contribute to changes in the U.S. workforce and gross domestic product (GDP). For instance: 74% of U.S. new workers are Hispanic, 40% of U.S. workforce growth overall is Hispanic and by 2025, Hispanics are forecast to contribute more to U.S. GDP than non-Hispanics. Latinos are projected to represent 46% of new home growth; 68% of auto industry growth; and to control $1.9T of purchasing power.
At the same time, Latinos don’t receive the financial support they need and deserve.
It would be logical to assume a community that’s seen such explosive growth would also have a proportionate increase in its share of U.S. wealth. Sadly, that’s not the case. Over the last 30+ years, the percentage of wealth held by U.S. Hispanics has increased by roughly a percentage point. And FDIC stats from 2021 illustrate a concerning variety of challenges. These include that 9.3% of Hispanic households are unbanked, compared to 2.1% of White households, and that 6.4% of Hispanic households use alternative financial services (which includes things like payday, pawn shop and auto title loans) vs. 3.3% of White households.
According to findings from the National Credit Union Foundation’s Know Your Membership Grant—created to help credit unions identify, understand and serve their diverse memberships—even credit unions actively looking to support communities of color overlook vital steps and opportunities to develop long-term relationships.
Taking action to address the needs of your Latino communities
With a strong strategy and commitment to action, credit unions can find opportunity and growth through increased support for their Latino communities. All credit unions are welcome to learn more this October by registering for the Foundation’s Workshop 2023.
This immersive, three-day workshop is open to all credit union employees. This event will use the foundational elements of our Credit Union Development Education (DE) program—experiential learning and a highly collaborative format—to explore how credit unions can better reach, engage and assist their Hispanic communities.
This year’s workshop will be held October 10-13 in El Paso, TX. The Foundation is partnering with GECU. Headquartered in El Paso, they are a model for credit unions nationwide in community development and Hispanic outreach. We’ll also be joined by industry experts from Coopera Consulting, Inclusiv, NLCUP and many other organizations with deep experience and insights for serving the Hispanic community. I hope you’ll join us for what will certainly be an eye-opening and change-driving experience.
