a fantastic Latinx-majority commercial bank in McAllen, TX
Since his election, President Joe Biden has struggled to reverse Trump-era policies regarding Mexican border immigration or has chosen to not to fight them at all, in some cases. One thing is for sure, the last five years have not been the best to be a Latinx immigrant in the US, whether because of COVD health concerns or Trump’s rhetoric of racism and xenophobia. There’s never been a better time to make an active effort to help strengthen Latinx communities, and one way we can do that is by moving our money to exceptional, Latinx-owned or –majority banks and credit unions.
All along the southern border of this country are Latinx-majority towns and cities, many of which have developed their own Better Banking Options to serve their own unique communities. McAllen is one of these, at the very southern tip of Texas. With more 84.6% of their population identifying as Hispanic or Latinx, they could not be a better example of what can happen when the U.S. embraces its close relationship with Mexico. McAllen is a major trading hub between the U.S. and Mexico, while also having one of the lowest costs of living of any metro area in the country and being consistently ranked one of the safest cities in Texas.
When you look up McAllen, TX, in our search engine, the second-highest ranked banking option is Rio Bank, a local bank headquartered in the area. Established in 1985 as a traditional bank focusing primarily on deposits and lending, Rio Bank has grown significantly since a change in leadership at the turn of the century. They now focus primarily on commercial lending and have 14 total branches in communities along the border of the southern tip of the state.
While they’re now a more profit-driven banking institution rather than your traditional, community bank, Rio Bank is still a fantastic lender in the area. 23% of their assets are devoted to small business lending, keeping with their commercial focus and creating wealth building loans. They also do a significant amount of small farm lending, with it making up nearly 3% of their assets (most banks don’t do ANY small farm loans). Additionally, we can see they’re devoted to uplifting low- and moderate-income households, because while they only devote 13% of their lending portfolio to housing loans, ALL of these loans are made in low-and moderate-income census tracts.
On their website, Rio Bank has a five-word mission statement: “We help our community grow.” While this may seem vague to some, it aptly sums up a lot of the ideas we’ve expressed consistently on this blog. Better Banking Options don’t just provide banking and lending services; they’re the veins through which capital flows to give life to our communities. Rio Bank is a fantastic example of how a bank can be profit-driven while still truly strengthening their neighborhoods and local economies.
Rio Bank offers both online and mobile banking options, so anyone can open an account with this Better Banking Option to support Latinx-majority communities along the southern border of Texas. Check out their website to get started today.