Pan American Bank (Los Angeles) Applauds President Obama’s Shake-Up

Pan American Bank President and CEO Jesse Torres today publicly applauded President Obama’s 2011 budget proposal for $900 million in School Turnaround Grants. Mr. Torres, a product of East Los Angeles and the chief executive of East Los Angeles’ only bank, praised the President for using federal funds as leverage for the shake-up needed to reform local education.

“Community banks such as Pan American Bank must take an active role in promoting the economic success of the local community. However, economic success is difficult without academic success. Today’s students are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and small business owners,” said CEO Jesse Torres. “If Pan American Bank is to live up to its mission of transforming and empowering the local community it must demand accountability of the local educational institutions. But it must also be supportive when called upon. Our recent initiatives with the KIPP LA Raices Academy and the Esteban Torres High School are two great examples of how community banks can take a leadership role within the local educational environment.”

In January 2010, Pan American Bank joined with KIPP LA’s Raices Academy to provide each student at the charter school with a Bank-funded savings account and ongoing financial literacy training for students and parents. The partnership between Pan American Bank and the East Los Angeles-based Raices Academy will provide each child at the East Los Angeles elementary school with a fee-free savings account until the child turns 18 years old. The opening deposit will be provided by the Bank. The initiative is part of Pan American Bank’s long-term asset building campaign intended to eliminate unbanked/underbanked households in the largely Latino communities served by Pan American Bank. “A December 2009 FDIC study found nearly 40% of our Latino households were either unbanked or underbanked. It is our responsibility as a community bank to serve the needs of the community. This includes eliminating the barriers to entry. This program with KIPP LA’s Raices Academy is a long-term solution to eliminating the unbanked and developing a financially literate generation with strong asset building skills,” said CEO Torres.

In February 2010, the Los Angeles Board of Education approved a five-school pilot program at the soon-to-open Esteban Torres High School in East Los Angeles. The approved program includes East Los Angeles’ first student-run branch. “The student-run branch will provide East L.A.’s youth with poverty reduction strategies that focus on the importance of creating financial assets, tools that focus on promoting savings at a young age, financial literacy by getting youth into financial instruments which demonstrate the value of saving and compound interest, encouragement for saving for education, homeownership or retirement, strong social and economic footing, and improved financial security by helping young adults weather emergencies, job losses and future recessions,” said CEO Torres.

Established in 1964, Pan American Bank is California’s oldest Latino-owned bank. Headquartered in East Los Angeles, Pan American Bank serves the needs of the Latino communities in Los Angeles and Santa Ana. Founded by former U.S. Treasurer Romana Acosta Banuelos, the Bank has stayed true to its mission of transforming and empowering Latino communities through banking relationships built on trust, service, respect, communication, and guidance. Pan American Bank’s Facebook page can be found at bit.ly/pab-facebook. The Bank’s blog is found at PanAmericanBank.blogspot.com. Pan American Bank can be followed on Twitter as @PanAmericanBank.

Contact:

Pan American Bank
Tony Ramirez, (323) 264-3310
TRamirez@PanAmericanBank.us“

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