Mesirow Financial Special Economic Report: Thriving Mexican Market Presents Opportunity for Businesses with Culture-Centric Marketing – Chicago, Illinois

“A special economic report issued today by Mesirow Financial sheds new light on the surging economic influence of Chicago’s Mexican market and its implications for local businesses. Written by the firm’s Director of Economic Communications, Olga Camargo, the report uses Chicago’s Little Village Neighborhood (a predominantly Mexican community) as a case study to show that as buying power in the Mexican community increases, local businesses must redefine marketing strategies to mirror the market’s cultural and ethnic values. “Current buying power among the Hispanic market is $600 billion and is estimated to reach close to $1 trillion by 2010,” says Camargo. Financial institutions could have the most to gain, as the remittance business and Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) mortgage business are on the rise. In 2004, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that Mexicans across the nation have created a $13.3 billion remittance business. Locally, Camargo’s report notes that the Mexican community in Chicago’s Little Village area generates an estimated $900 million a year in sales, which is said to be spawning tax revenue for the city that is second only to Michigan Avenue.”

• Money Trickles North as Mexicans Help Relatives – reverse remittances from Mexico
• U.S. Woes Cut Cash Flow From Mexican Migrants
• Mexican emigrants sent home $16.4 billion during the first nine months of this year, down 13.4% from the same period in 2008
• Remittances to Honduras Fall Nearly 11 Percent in ‘09
• Fewer wire transfers concern Hispanic store owners in Virginia Beach
• Remittances sent home by Mexicans living abroad, especially in the United States, fell 15.1% to $1.78 billion in August compared with the same month last year, the central bank reported.
• Western Union lanza campaña sobre envío de remesas a Cuba
• Half of New Latino Immigrants to U.S. Send Money Abroad :: U.S.-born Latinos are much less likely to send remittances, unless they report being religious
• MoneyGram International Adds Nearly 1,200 Agent Locations in Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Dominican Republic
• Mexico remittances plunge in worst fall on record – plunged in April by more than 18 percent compared to the same period last year
• Hispanics and the Economic Downturn: Housing Woes and Remittance Cuts – Pew Hispanic Report
• Xoom.com Launches Money Transfer Service Directly to Any Banco Uno, Banco Cuscatlan (now Citibank) Account in Central America
• Mexicans in the United States sent home 12.2% less money this past August than they did in August of last year, the Banco de Mexico said Wednesday.
• Remittances, exports — Latin America has reasons to worry over U.S. financial crisis
• Blogante News Summary for Wednesday – July 30th, 2008
• Jesus Cervantes, director of economic measurement for Mexico’s central bank, said remittances are expected to decline 1.5 percent to 2 percent for 2008 as a whole over the previous year.
• Blogante News Summary for July 28th, 2008
• Blogante Essentials for Monday – July 28th, 2008
• Flow of dollars home to Latin America dwindles – The souring American economy has hit workers hard everywhere, but now it’s reaching across the border. The depth of the downturn is evident at money transfer companies like Dolex, which report a steep fall in remittances.
• TransferOrbit Finalizes Definitive Contract with Mexican Network Giant TU-DNRO Inc.