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| Bank grant pays for finance classes |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Saturday, 06 October 2007 | |
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“It can really be confusing and overwhelming to somebody ... new to this country.” — Chris Quintero Manager for Newman’s Bank of the West Navigating the world of U.S. finance can be a daunting task for anyone, let alone for newly arrived Latin American immigrants. Like others, newcomers to this country often are offered credit card deals, home mortgage opportunities and special savings account requirements, while scammers are around every corner to ask trusting clients to sign on the dotted line. A new series of courses, started by a $10,000 donation from Bank of the West, aims to teach West Side residents how to navigate some of those financial straits. “It can really be confusing and overwhelming to somebody … new to this country,” said Chris Quintero, Newman branch manager for Bank of the West. Patterson branch manager Martha Arestegui, Quintero and Marlene Stante, the bank’s senior vice president and regional banking manager, presented a check at the Patterson branch last month to the Stockton-based group El Concilio to run the class. Eduardo Morales, who counsels first-time homebuyers and others in financial literacy for El Concilio Community Center in Modesto, has offered similar classes in other cities. Eighteen attendees signed in at the first course he offered in Patterson this week at Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s Father Connors Hall on Tuesday, and more people arrived as the evening wore on. “It was very nice,” Morales said. Many people were candid about their trouble regarding home mortgages and identity theft, though it took time for some folks to feel comfortable talking about the subject, he said. He plans to meet later with a few people with serious financial problems in a one-on-one counseling setting. Morales said a lot of immigrants are taken advantage of because they do not know they are supposed to read the fine print. “When I ask them, ‘How many of you have a credit card?’ everyone raises their hands,” he said last month. “When I ask them what their interest rate is, (most of them) don’t know.” The Rev. Mike Walsh, parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, said Latinos are often family-oriented and sometimes don’t realize they can get into trouble when co-signing on a loan for a relative if the person defaults on the loan. Bank of the West’s grant, which pays for Morales’ time and transportation, will cover about six to eight workshops on nine finance topics. Some of those workshops will take place at Father Connors Hall, but Morales also wants to have workshops in other West Side communities, such as Grayson. He said many people have a hard time at first believing the classes are free, but grant money allows that to happen. The new class is open to Spanish speakers and non-Spanish speakers alike, Morales said. El Concilio, also known as Council for the Spanish Speaking, started nearly 40 years ago with a grant from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton. Since that time, it has branched out to serve non-Spanish speakers as well. The group aims to create self-sufficiency through counseling, referrals and education. Stante noted that much of the West Side is minority-based, and Bank of the West wants to provide more services to reach out to minorities. Arestegui of the Patterson branch was happy to hear the finance classes would be on the West Side. “I think we need it,” she said. For information: 523-2860 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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