If this is your only type of I.D., good luck opening a bank account in Santa Ana – until now!
Most of us take banks and banking for granted. Many of us have had bank accounts since we were kids. But for thousands of Orange County residents, opening a bank account is not so easy. Here in Santa Ana, where I live, many residents are unable to open bank accounts because the only I.D. they have is their matricular consular cards. In fact this came up on Monday night, at the Santa Ana Planning Commission meeting.
Sean Mill fought for a local business that wanted to offer check cashing. Of course the Usual Suspects were up in arms – and the city staffers were not too helpful. So Mill did the research and he pointed out that most of the folks in the market area has no other options. Mill called the local banks and they said they would not accept their I.D. cards.
Mill pointed out that Santa Ana is the ONLY city around that has not yet embraced Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Bank on California” campaign, which was launched last December with the goal of helping under-served communities to open bank accounts.
Well, what do you know. Today I got an email from the City of Santa Ana announcing that Mayor Miguel Pulido is now supporting this initiative. Pulido announced this in a letter, which you can access by clicking here.
Pulido announced a public briefing about what he is calling “Bank on Santa Ana.” The event will be held at the Santa Ana Police Department’s Community Room on Thursday, Sep. 10, from 1 to 3 pm. I don’t think that is a good place to hold this meeting, but kudos to Pulido for finally waking up and embracing this program six months after it began.
Apparently the meeting will be attended by representatives of Gov. Schwarzenegger and other community based organizations. Since the meeting is during the workday I don’t expect any residents to be there, but at least the city is trying – thanks to Mill.
The city email message also provided further background regarding this program:
Half of all Californians do not have a savings account and one in five does not have a checking account. According the recent research conducted by the PEW Safe Banking Opportunities Project, there are 23,800 unbanked households in Santa Ana – (Profile ).
The Governor’s Office has asked Mayor Pulido to endorse the program in Santa Ana and have OCUW as one of its key partners. The program will also work in partnership with the Office of the Governor, financial institutions, financial regulatory agencies, community organizations and the Mayor. OCUW will convene partners to focus on helping unbanked Santa Ana residents open starter bank accounts and enter the financial mainstream. Financial institutions will look at improving access to bank accounts by providing no cost or low cost banking services, accepting international identification cards and providing financial literacy courses. This will enable Santa Ana residents to begin saving, protect their money, build a credit history, gain access to lower-cost sources of credit and build wealth and assets.
No wonder the Usual Suspects have been trying so hard to get Mill kicked off the Planning Commission. He is the best advocate for working-class Latinos in the city. It looks like he has once more succeeded in helping the community. For this, no doubt, the Usual Suspects will renew their efforts to boot him off his Commission. What a shame – he ought to get an award for this one!
Are you talking about “illegals”.or money comming fron drug trafficking?,what about people that do not even have the “matricula consular” will they being discriminated from this”help”?.
Think about the ramification of this “help”. Could be also money from terrorist organizations that do not want to be traced!. Sorry! for that honest and hard working ones!.
Won’t Bustymante’s bank take them?
Why is it that under the “Patriot Act” I can’t open a brokerage account for a non citizen, withour a VALID PASSPORT and a VALID GREEN CARD? Now banks can use this fake ass ID to open a bank account for an illegal, not “Underserved” residents. I feel bad for the hard working guy, who justs want to cash his check, but please don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining
hmmm, I’m not too sure about this one, I can see problems down the line.
Art, can you clarify something, is the government encouraging OR forcing banks to work with non residents to open accounts?
Lam,
It is a voluntary program. Most banks are excited about it as it means more customers for them.
This is a great idea as folks should not keep money under their mattress. By putting it in the bank they make that capital available for loans.
As far as I’m concerned Sean Mill is the first Latino Planning Commissioner. By the way…Wells Fargo takes the Mex. card.
if your a illegal in this country you should not have a bank account . i agree with most of everyone on here so far.. i like the way they word it undeserved resident another fancy word for illegal alien .
Some people don’t like the government knowing their stuff. So long as the banks are required to copy and turn over all transactions you do at banks, some will shy away from having banks accounts.
“It is a voluntary program” first voluntary, then mandatory.
#1 Your comment cracked a smile since folks like US convicted felon Bernard Madoff can wreak havoc on other US citizens plus the US. economy. And with the one-year anniversary of the fall of Lehman Bros. (9-15), your comment is utterly stupid. We have our full share of economic terrorist within the US and they are CITIZENS.
Art, my first thoughts was exactly that… banks would get more business. However, that would be a business decision on their part. If they’re excited about it, wouldn’t they just do it on their own without government involvement?
I’m very uncomfortable with government trying to get involved in private financial matters. Things normally do not turn out well.
What! B of A has been accepting Matriculas Consulares for YEARS!
FYI
Bank of America
Hispanic fact sheet
A strong national presence
• Bank of America is a leader in banking for the Hispanic community, maintaining relationships with 3.9 million, or 57 percent, of the 6.9 million Hispanic households in our territory.
• Hispanic customers have more than $15 billion in deposits with Bank of America and comprise about 33 percent of all new checking accounts in the first half of 2004.
People who care
• Of the more than 175 new banking centers opening in 2004, at least 80 will be in communities where Hispanics represent 10 percent or more of the population.
• In 2003, 30 percent of external hires were Hispanic
• 47 percent of the new external hires were bilingual – 67 percent of them Spanish-speaking
Products and services
• Nuevo Futuro, an introductory account that bundles checking, savings and remittance.
• SafeSend, the only international remittance product offering access 24 hours a day.
• Free access to 26,000 Santander ATMs across the United States and Mexico.
• Flexible loan underwriting, including accepting the financial contributions of extended family members living in a single home to get a mortgage.
• Spanish-language Service My Mortgage, an online service for monitoring loan activity and ordering customer service items such as coupon books and amortization schedules.
• Accepting the Matricula Consular as a valid form of identification when opening new accounts and cashing checks.
• Expanded voice-guided service in Spanish
• Spanish language Web site, http://www.bankofamerica.com/espanol
Small businesses and suppliers
• Recognized as No. 1 Small Business Administration (SBA) lender to minority-owned and Hispanic-owned businesses. Bank of America is translating SBA applications/fulfillment documents into Spanish.
• Through the Multicultural Supplier Development Group, Bank of America spent almost $100 million in 2003 with businesses owned by Hispanics.
• Bank of America has increased spending with Hispanic suppliers by 66 percent between 2000 and 2003.
• In 2003, Hispanic suppliers accounted for 15 percent, or $95 million of Bank of America supplier spending.
Community
• Bank of America is contributing $20 million over 10 years to the National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) Hope Fund.
• More than 15 percent, or nearly $11 million of Bank of America’s charitable investments in 2003 went to multicultural organizations.
• The Community Development Banking Group is financing affordable housing in Hispanic communities across the country, part of our goal to lend and invest more than $750 billion in low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods over the next 10 years.
• To improve the way higher education serves Hispanics and promotes career opportunities, Bank of America is working with the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
• The Bank of America Foundation has set a 10-year goal of $1.5 billion for philanthropic investment, much of which will address critical needs in Hispanic neighborhoods.
• Bank of America supports the Neighborhood Builders program, which will provide $200,000 over two years toward a non-profit organization’s operating support and leadership training.
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With 90% of Hispanic residents in the United States within our geography, Bank of America gives high priority to initiating and growing relationships with Hispanic consumers, businesses and communities. This includes expanding our retail and small business distribution channels in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods, hiring and developing more Spanish-speaking associates, and advertising and providing basic services in Spanish.
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Bank of America offers a variety of products designed specifically for Hispanics. This includes SafeSend, which allows customers to transfer funds to Mexico from anywhere in the United States, online or by phone. It also includes Nuevo Futuro, an introductory checking account. We also offer special mortgage products that take into account the financial contributions of extended family members living in a single home.
Special services
Bank of America provides Spanish-language information online, allowing customers to find product information, change addresses and do a variety of other activities such as monitor loan applications. We’re hiring more bilingual associates, and continue to add banking centers in Hispanic markets. For customers who prefer to call, Bank of America provides Spanish-language call centers and voice-guided services.
Bank of America also accepts Matricula Consular as a valid form of identification for consumers opening new accounts and cashing checks. Bank of America led the way as the only major bank to testify in front of Congress in support of the card.
Successful contributions
Bank of America is the No. 1 lender to minority-owned and Hispanic-owned businesses. We finance affordable housing in Hispanic communities across the country, as part of our $750 billion loan and investment goal in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods over the next 10 years. Furthermore, the Bank of America Foundation has set a 10-year goal of $1.5 billion for philanthropic investment, much of which will address critical needs in Hispanic neighborhoods.
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News Releases and Additional Information
Press Releases
January 27, 2005 — Bank of America becomes first bank to eliminate money transfer fees to Mexico
August 17, 2004 — Bank of America remittance service for sending money to Mexico grows 1,500 percent in first six months of 2004
September 29, 2003 — Bank of America and Santander Serfin Announce New, Advanced SafeSend Features to Benefit Customers on Both Sides of the Border
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My Latinos are a true Powerhouse. I’m so jellus and envoius- wait let me google jellus and envoius oops there it goes oh my bad typing skills excuze is getting old and warn out.
thank God for Googal,I mean google.
Let me start aggen redy-
Latinos are a true Powerhouse- I am so so jealous and envious- I think everyone has noticed already-I vent about Latinos and let my anger out on them on this blog all the time!!!
Now they will be opening moore bank akkounts
Oh darn they will establish credit, oh I want to be a beautiful Latina-
Dr. Plastique Sergen please make me look Latina,
here is a picture of Salma Hayek and J-Lo.
Give me the best of J-Lo and give me everything else a la Salma Hayek.
Now that $$$ power will be increasing with credit and opportoonity for Latinos– I can’t stand it any longer- away with my bitterness- make me Latina NOW–CHARGE IT ON MY MEDI-CAL ACCT.
Justification– If you don’t, it will cost the gov’t more in mental health costs if I lose it further over not having been born Latina!!
Mayve Dok Lomeli can give me teeth or veneeers that look like Thalia’s new teeth!! 🙂
Oh and Sean Mill will forgive my rants, if I smile BIGG!!!
To me there is nothing more despicable than burning a man out of a days work.
Well that’s what happened for years at a restaurant popular with the “Usual Suspects” and known in circles a a “influential businessman”.
On behalf of the bus boy some irish mafia types interceded and he smartly made the choice to drive his S500 home instead of spending the night in the trunk!
What is it with these folks that don’t want to help the most desperate among us. The previous poster is naive to understand that denyiny them services quashes assimilation.
All I can say about this particular blog is that #14 is a real douchebag. Two months ago a friend of mine turned me on to this site……..minus the douchebag it’s not bad….
#16,
Luckily she has cut back on her comments of late.
Thanks for reading the Orange Juice!
Quinn never disappoints. She consistently posts stupid comments and rants like a loon.