Gene Juarez, The Man

If you live in the Seattle area, when you think of "Gene Juarez," your thoughts go to great haircuts, spa treatments, and for me, the best pedicures offered anywhere. But there's a man behind this chain of luxury spas and salons throughout the Puget Sound region. His name is, well, Gene Juarez.

And the new issue of 425 magazine has featured Mr. Juarez. Or perhaps, Señor Juarez. You see, Gene's family came from Mexico and started their American life as many Mexican immigrants do here in our state--in Eastern Washington fields. The article is great.

But what it doesn't mention is that Mr. Juarez is a brilliant marketer. The way I've heard the story, he got his big start downtown when he visited the Frederick & Nelson (RIP) department store across the street. He approached the elevator operators and offered them haircuts. Of course! Because from then on, when anyone asked the operator where she got that great 'do, her answer would be, "Gene Juarez!"

Mr. Juarez is also a founding director of Plaza Bank, which is one way he can reach out to families, in situations much like his own those many years ago, through business. The Bank has both commercial lending and retail banking services, and it offers financial literacy and competitive products that help people new to our way of banking in the U.S. In fact, Plaza Bank stood among very few community banks when it reported profits last quarter.

Read Mr. Juarez' story by Lisa Patterson--you'll be amazed, motivated, and if you're like me, you might just be inspired to get yourself a spa pedicure. (Ask for Mercedes at the downtown location.)

Reaching Unbanked Latinos

In celebration of Plaza Bank President & CEO Carlos Guangorena's birthday today, I'd like to write a little about banking and Latinos. In general, immigrants to the U.S. are much less likely to be banked than American-born. In addition, certain minorities are especially unlikely to have a relationship with a banking institition.

The problem with not having that banking relationship is that then it's difficult to establish credit. And we know that, without credit, many things--like home ownership--are simply unattainable. Now sometimes we hear that employers even check credit reports of their candidates to ensure that they're "responsible." Well, not having any credit at all doesn't make a person "irresponsible," it just means they're living outside the societal norm in the United States. And if they come from a place where banks closed and they lost all their savings, you can understand their hesitation. But now, you see, they have limited opportunities.

According to a first-ever federal survey on the topic, minority groups showed to be much less likely than the overall population to have standard banking relationships. In fact, an article in yesterday's L.A. Times reports on the survey: "Nearly 22% of black households were unbanked, as well as 19.3% of Latino households and 15.6% of Native American households. Just 3.5% of Asians and 3.3% of whites did not use banking services." That's an astounding gap.

Excerpt from the article:

"Many Latinos are most comfortable operating in cash," said James Gutierrez,
chief executive of Progreso Financiero in Mountain View, Calif., which focuses
on giving small, short-term loans to Latinos. Instead of having a paycheck put
on hold for several days at a bank, many turn to expensive payday loans for
immediate liquidity. "There's a lot of distrust of banks," Gutierrez said. "But
even though it's convenient for them to operate outside the financial
mainstream, they can't build a credit history, get a small-business loan, build
wealth. You need to give people a staircase upwards."

Here in the Puget Sound region, Plaza Bank was formed, about four years ago, on this very principle. The founders and directors wanted to create an institution that would be accessible, and since many of them were Latino, they created the Pacific Northwest's first Latino bank--with bilingual/bicultural staff, services and materials. They of course welcome everyone to bank there, with business lending and administrative office is right here in downtown Seattle, and a gorgeous retail branch at the Kent Station Shopping Center in Kent. The Bank has been offering not only your typical bank products for consumers and businesses, but also opportunities for financial literacy. This is what sets Plaza Bank apart from the bigger banks. It's a community bank that is truly reaching out.

For the same reason, the organization Bank On Seattle was created a couple of years back. The mission of Bank on Seattle was to make banking accessible to the unbanked--and keep this population from losing all its money through payday loan services. They formed a cooperative of many credit unions and banks, including Plaza Bank. If anyone can provide information describing the organization's current efforts or achievements, that would be great to learn.

As a side note, in our own survey of Puget Sound Latinos two years ago, we learned that 56% of local Latinos are banked (meaning they have a savings account, checking account or both), which makes the Seattle area market very different from the national average.

Sources: Hispanic Consumers in the Puget Sound Region study available FREE at www.conexion-marketing.com; http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eeveryoneiswelcome%2Eorg%2F&urlhash=JqF9 ; http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elatimes%2Ecom%2Fbusiness%2Fla-fi-fdic-unbanked3-2009dec03%2C0%2C487549%2Estory&urlhash=Al9R

Plaza Bank Achieves Milestone

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MILESTONE ACHIEVED AS

SEATTLE’S PLAZA BANK

CELEBRATES THREE YEARS

SEATTLE (July 9, 2009) - Plaza Bank, based in Seattle, Washington, announces that it surpassed $100 million in assets one month before its third anniversary. The Bank was founded on the principles of serving business and individual customers with a focus on the Latino community.

"This is quite an achievement for any bank during these troubled times," President and CEO Carlos Guangorena admits. "I'm proud of the team we've assembled and appreciative of the businesses and individuals who have put their trust in Plaza Bank. We are doing everything we can to continue to earn their trust and provide a world-class banking experience."

Significantly, this accomplishment was reached while operating from two locations, unusual for a de novo bank. As Plaza Bank enters its fourth year of business, Guangorena cautions that there is still work to do. “The Bank achieved this milestone in a challenging environment. We have to stay focused on credit quality and service during these tough times."

Meanwhile, Plaza Bank continues to reach out to minorities:

• Its total loans to women and minorities were over 40 percent of total loan balances outstanding at the close of 2008.


• Approximately 70 percent of its consumer loans are to Hispanics.


• About 23 percent of its commercial loans are to Latinos.

Plaza Bank is a locally-owned community commercial bank serving the Seattle Metropolitan area and offering quality services and products to businesses, non-profit organizations and consumers with a focus on Hispanic businesses and consumers. The Bank is one of only three which have been designated as FDIC Minority Depository Institutions in the Pacific Northwest. The Kent Station branch in Kent is open Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am - 5 pm; Fridays 9:30 am - 6 pm. The Downtown Seattle office is open 9 am - 5pm weekdays. For more information about Plaza Bank, call 206-436-7600 or visit http://www.plazabankwa.com./

###

Plaza Bank in the NEWS

See the story in the June Seattle Business magazine:

"Fiscally prudent, and the results bear testimony," reads the headline.

I just received our office copy of Seattle Business magazine, and on p14 is a story on Plaza Bank. Get your copy and take a read!

In the meantime...some fun facts about the Bank we love:

Plaza Bank launched in 2006 with a commercial lending office in downtown Seattle and a retail branch at Kent Station; today it stands strong with $89 million in total assets. In a climate that has witnessed most banks’ assets fall, this bank has even seen a small increase. While other banks are conserving capital by stopping loan growth and reducing their existing portfolio, Plaza Bank is still in growth mode and is continuing to lend. It shows a 17 percent capital ratio—twice the level of an adequately capitalized bank at 8 percent.

What’s its secret? To start, the bank never took on mortgage lending nor did it invest in mortgage interests. Additionally, Plaza Bank was founded on reaching out to Latinos and other minorities in a way that is meaningful.

In fact, its total loans to women and minorities were over 40 percent of total loan balances outstanding at the end of 2008. Approximately 70 percent of its consumer loans are to Hispanics. Its consumer loans generally pay much better than their commercial counterparts based on a lower default rate; the difference may be due to customers choosing to consolidate higher-interest debt into more palatable payments, or because the loan is a home equity or auto loan. Says President and CEO Carlos Guangorena, “People don’t want to default because they need their cars and homes. They’re a part of your everyday life, and the last two things you want to lose.” Though the sheer number of consumer loans is larger than the number of commercial loans, approximately 90% of its lending is on the commercial side. About 23 percent of its commercial loans are to Latinos; a total of 40 percent to combined minorities and women. Examples of the types of commercial lending Plaza Bank sees include loans for a business secured by commercial real estate, or a revolving line of credit to help with cash flow.

Guangorena sees the future growth of Plaza Bank coming mostly from the business side but also from the consumer group, as the bank matures and increases its consumer product offerings. Commercial lending will grow as well in the short run. “We have capital, so we want to lend. Of course, we’ll be wary of real estate construction and residential development, but we’ll be looking at deals the other banks can’t or don’t want to be involved in right now.”

Poised to weather the storm and rebound with the economy, this is one bank whose future could be described as brillante.

Plaza Bank Gets It

Whenever I talk to groups about Hispanic marketing "best practices," I mention Plaza Bank.

Granted, the Bank was founded by businesspeople, some with Latino backgrounds themselves, with the unique objective of combining world-class banking services with financial literacy outreach for Latinos and other immigrants.

So Plaza Bank naturally gets it:

• Many of its customer-facing employees are native Spanish speakers, to best serve their Spanish-dominant customer base.
• They consider the products they offer and ensure that they can provide the products most in demand by Latinos. For example, they offer a fantastic $5 money transfer product because they know Latinos regularly send money to their families in their homelands, and they wanted to give customers and non-customers alike the opportunity to do it affordably.
• The Bank's website, merchandising and collateral are bilingual.
• Plaza Bank and its staff show multi-faceted involvement in the local Latino community, and are working to nurture relationships and trust all the while. They support organizations that serve the Latino community either with social services, education, or general financial services (they're a member of Bank On Seattle and have contributed to the CASA Latina, the Ernest Aguilar Scholarship fund for UW students and other organizations).
• And so on ...

I bumped into Vice President Danielle McIntyre today and we chatted in the Westlake Park sunshine. She said something to the effect of, "It's not about tacos and soccer tickets."

Danielle's right, and I couldn't have said it better myself. Companies sometimes try to appeal to the Latino community with giveaways, which is fun. But the foundation has to be solid--a foundation that nurtures trust and that shows consistency. So when the fun wears off, there's a reason for a real relationship.

If you're giving them something, make it something that's relevant to your product if you can. Plaza Bank has these great piggy banks they were giving away for families open children's accounts. This makes sense. At Sounders games for the past two years, as a sponsor, the Bank gave away branded soccer ball toys. This was of course a tie-in with the relationship Plaza Bank had established with the Sounders, and Plaza Bank has built a solid foundation with the Latino community. Alone these trinkets wouldn't have worked. They don't send people through the branch doors, and they certainly don't help retain clients. The word-of-mouth will do that.

A professional who is immersed in the Latino community and understands its members' needs, told a contact of mine today, "Plaza Bank is the bank for the Latino community. You can trust them there." That says a lot, especially in a community that may hail from countries where banks can close and FDIC won't save your savings.

Plaza Bank has built the right foundation, supporting its relationships with Latino customers with fantastic service and thorough knowledge of banking at all levels.

If you share their passion, visit them at their downtown Seattle office, their Kent Station branch, or their site to learn more.

Our Favorite Client

Hola - just got an interesting bite from a prospective client. Turns out, his business already has Spanish-speaking staff in place to support his intended Hispanic marketing efforts. Kudos to you, Brent!

We're letting you in on a little secret here: If you'd like to attract Latino consumers, start by putting an infrastructure in place (customer-facing staff, printed materials such as contracts, phone IVRU, etc) *before* you place that ad in Spanish-language media or even display that Spanish-language poster.

Think about it: Nothing's more disappointing than thinking that you'll get the service you need, when really all the company had for you is a poster in the window.

Plaza Bank is one of those rare businesses in our area that was built on the premise of truly serving Latinos (versus simply attracting them). Of course, most companies weren't founded on this premise, but that doesn't exempt them from making their very best effort to provide high-touch support to Latinos they do attract.

>> If you have questions about what this means for your business, just give us a ring at 206-621-2185 or write info@conexion-marketing.com.

En español - Entrepreneur Fair this Sunday

Sunday, October 19 -- Washington CASH is putting on an entrepreneur fair at Renton Technical College, from 12-4. This event targets Spanish-speaking immigrants who have started their own businesses or are looking into becoming business owners. There will be workshops to focus on relevant topics of business: finance, accounting, legal, marketing, real estate, etc. Several groups are participating in this, including Community Capital Development, SBA and SCORE, and Plaza Bank. And - organizers say they're serving up not only food but also entertainment! How can you refuse? For more info: http://www.washingtoncash.org/.

POR FIN: Latino Expo

I say "por fin" (finally) because the event took place this past Sunday, but I'm just now getting to this post. Ah, the life of a socialite....I mean student.

I also say "por fin" because it's about time the Seattle area has an event of this scale that's dedicated to professionals.

The Latino Expo (aka the Latino Consumer, Business and Career Expo) at Meydenbauer Center was a pretty big event, as it turns out. This I believe is Expo NW's first event of this type in Western Washington (correct me if I'm wrong), although they've mastered it in Pasco!

They sold out all the exhibitors' booths and had an interesting combination of banks, schools, insurance carriers, cookware, jewelry, and and and the list goes on. It was hard to know whether I should apply for a job, enroll in school, or get car insurance. I think if the event were more focused (or somehow categorized) it might be more meaningful to attendees and bring more of the exhibitors' target to the event and to their booth.

All in all, I was happy to see that there was indeed some attendance there (including some of my favorite people) and I know that with more events in our area, Expo NW will see success with their well-planned events.

In Today's Puget Sound Business Journal

TGIF - the week's PSBJ has come out and with it, a great local focus on banking (how timely!).

And ... Don't miss the op-ed piece from Carlos Guangorena, president and CEO of Plaza Bank, the Northwest's first Latino bank.

>>The article focuses on a new City of Seattle initiative, Bank On Seattle-King County, to reach the unbanked population here locally. It's an initiative that's taken off in San Francisco, and we think it will here, too. If you're not a subscriber and would like a PDF of the article, please email us at info@conexion-marketing.com.

If I don't post again today, wishing you all a fabulous weekend! See my post yesterday about all the happenings in the Latino community ...