Bank targets Hispanic firms - Mundo Latino

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, June-July, 2003

LaSalle Bank plans to further grow its business with Hispanic-owned companies based in Chicago, launching a new commercial lending group targetting Latino companies with sales revenue of more than $50 million. The bank also formed lending divisions in its small-business and metropolitan banking groups to tap into the growing number of smaller, privately owned Hispanic businesses throughout Illinois.

The focus on the growing Hispanic market by banks has traditionally been targeted to retail clients. Many banks have opened Hispanic-speaking branches, expanded into Hispanic neighborhoods, developed bilingual product brochures, and even developed banking products tailored to meet the unique needs of the Hispanic client base. The focus on the Hispanic middle-market businesses is a fresh approach in the Chicago market.

LaSalle Bank, as with other Chicago-based banks, has devoted significant resources targeted to the 500,000 plus Hispanic residents who live in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Yet, with an overall growing population, banks have not put forth dedicated resources targeted toward Hispanic-businesses. LaSalle Bank concluded that the number of Hispanic-owned businesses would rise in conjunction with the growing population, sparking LaSalle's senior management to put a strategy in place.

"The banking industry as a whole in Chicago has established a solid retail approach to meeting the needs of the growing Hispanic client bases," stated LaSalle Bank's Chairman, President & CEO Norman Bobins. "We see a real opportunity to expand beyond the retail world and to take our relationship-focused approach to the growing number of Hispanic businesses throughout Chicago."

There are 67,000 Hispanic-owned companies throughout the state of Illinois. Ninety percent of these companies are concentrated in the greater Chicago area, giving the bank the ammunition to build its internal infrastructure necessary to grow business with both middle-market and smaller-sized Hispanic-owned companies. Leading the charge to middle-market companies is Jorge Soils, a former Bank One senior banker from Michigan who recently joined LaSalle to spearhead this effort. Under Solis' direction, LaSalle will target successful, established companies and entrepreneurs who expect and demand top quality products and services delivered by senior bankers who understand this niche market. There are 160 companies in the bank's footprint with combined sales revenue surpassing $21 billion.