RBC Mortgage & NHMBBA team up to increase Hispanic homeownership

Real Estate Weekly, August 27, 2003

\RBC Mortgage Company, one of the nation's leading residential mortgage companies, and the National Hispanic Mortgage Bankers & Brokers Association (NHMBBA), an organization promoting Hispanic homeownership initiatives and programs, today announced that they have formed an alliance to help increase Hispanic homeownership.

RBC Mortgage, one of the nation's leading residential mortgage companies, will be named a charter member of the association, which was established in March 2003.

"RBC Mortgage will aid the NHMBBA's first and foremost goal: to empower Hispanic families through knowledge, steady assistance and a home purchase, one of the greatest financial assets a family can ever have," said Gilbert D. Martinez, NHMBBA founder, chairman and CEO.

While Hispanics represent one of the fastest growing segments of homeowners, the percentage of homeowners within the Hispanic community remains far below those for other ethnic groups. According to a Brookings Institution study, mortgage lending jumped 125 percent for Hispanic homebuyers during the 1990s, compared to a 98 percent boost among African-American homebuyers. Currently, however, only about 48 percent of Hispanics own homes, compared with about 72 percent of non-Hispanic whites, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.

The alliance will facilitate RBC Mortgage's existing efforts to further penetrate the Hispanic marketplace. In recent years, RBC Mortgage has hired more Hispanic and Spanish-speaking loan officers, translated many of its marketing materials into Spanish and partnered with community business leaders.