El Latino American Partnership

Access to financial education and a language barrier are contributors to the Hispanic wealth gap, but can also be the tool with which we eliminate this acute disparity. As a leader in their community, El Latino American observed there was virtually no access to financial education for the Latino population in Oklahoma and came to MidFirst Bank seeking help.

Working hand-in-hand, the El Latino newspaper editor and MidFirst Bank's MoneyMoments financial education team is now reaching this neglected community through personal finance newspaper articles and a free ever-expanding Spanish-language financial education program.

What initiated as a 30-minute budgeting presentation at the 2016 El Latino American annual Hispanic Women's Mother's Day banquet has grown to an annual full-day conference that provides access to health, safety and financial information and services, and a nine-month series of financial education workshops that provide a well-rounded financial knowledge base.

In the 7 years since the program's inception, we've helped over 6,000 Hispanic families improve their financial situations by providing resources that didn't exist before. Families who have participated in the program report financial successes both small and large, including improving their credit history, reducing debt, finally achieving the dream of home ownership, and most importantly, feeling like their financial struggles are heard.