Banks to set up shop at Mexican Consulate

The Consulate General of Mexico signed an agreement Monday with three U.S. banks that could make Mexican nationals more comfortable with the banking industry.

"In other areas of the U.S. — New York, Los Angeles, Chicago — we have had a presence in consulates for years," said Iñigo Arzac, assistant vice president and relationship manager for Citibank San Antonio. "Now we can reach out to the Mexican community, especially with the growth of San Antonio."

The banks will not offer any products inside the consulate. But they will answer questions that Mexicans have about credit, bank services and sending money back to Mexico.

Mexicans send billions of dollars home every year in remittances. Remittances have become one of the largest forms of foreign income for the country. In 2006, more than $23 billion was sent to Mexico from nationals living in the United States.

"We're trying to educate a lot of the citizens out there," said Eusebio Rivera Jr., senior vice president at Chase. "If you go back to the history of Latin America, a lot of the citizens are not banking. They are not used to the banking industry."

Arzac said more than half of the Mexican nationals in Texas do not use banks. Nationally, about 45 percent of Mexican nationals are "unbanked."

"We have to provide a lot of education," Laredo National Bank Vice President Gustavo Parra said. "We do a lot of visits to job sites and PTA meetings. We want to help them feel comfortable."

Ambassador Martha Lara said it took several months to pull together the agreement that was signed in a ceremony Monday at the consulate. The banks had to agree, as did the Mexican federal government.

"It was time to do this in San Antonio," Lara said.