Narrowing the Wealth Gap for Latinos is Goal of New Initiatives

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Economic stability is often one of the most important determining factors of a person’s – and a family’s – overall health.

The stress associated with money often leads to severe negative health conditions and can severely impact children’s abilities to succeed in school.

Recognizing that many Latinos live in low-income, high-poverty, and high-crime areas, the Hispanic Wealth Project (HWP) has made it its mission to triple Hispanic household wealth by the year 2024.

To accomplish this goal, they have defined three components to help them achieve this:

1. advancing sustainable homeownership
2. improving the success of Latino entrepreneurs
3. increasing Latino investments beyond cash assets

“The Hispanic Wealth Project is built on the premise that all Americans benefit by the economic well-being of our Latino community,” said Chairman Jerry Ascencio via the HWP website. “[We] are committed to empowering Latinos to fully participate and prosper in the U.S. economy through education, small business development and sustainable homeownership.”

In an effort to reach their goals, the HWP has partnered with several organizations to assist them, including Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. The financial institution has pledged $125 billion in “mortgage originations” to Latino homebuyers. The company has also pledged to increase the number of Latino home mortgage consultants that it employs.

Also, Freddie Mac and MassMutual Financial Group have committed to projects that are aimed at increasing financial literacy for Latinos, including how to participate in savings and investments. Bank of America, Quicken Loans and Union Bank have also agreed to lend resources to support HWP by promoting its programs aimed at Latino homeownership and small business ownership.

Lastly, New American Funding, the largest Latino-owned mortgage company in the U.S., has agreed to bring career opportunities and mortgage financing to Latino homebuyers.

The HWP hosted its second annual Hispanic Wealth Project Symposium on May 23, 2017, at La Jolla, Calif.

Learn more about the agency and their initiatives here.