Last year, Denver Community Federal Credit Union opened a branch in a predominantly Latino neighborhood to be near its burgeoning Hispanic population.
A full-time, bilingual employee who works at the branch at 12th and Federal provides financial-literacy training for people who in many cases have never had a checking account, said Carla Hedrick, president of the credit union.
“Our goal is to help those who are living primarily in a cash world to change habits,” she said Thursday.
At Wells Fargo branches, customers can use a Mexican government identification document called the “matricula consular” as one form of ID needed to open accounts or get other services, said Cristie Drumm, Wells Fargo spokeswoman in Colorado.
Latinos are the fastest-growing group in Denver, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Between 1990 and 2000, the Latino population grew by 89 percent, triple the growth rate of the general population, and by 2004 more than one in five people in metro Denver were Hispanic.
“We do feel that this is an opportunity,” Hedrick said.
Staff writer Tom McGhee can be reached at 303-820-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com.
