FIRST LATINO BANK IN 30 YEARS OPENS.

Byline: RACHEL URANGA Staff Writer

GLENDALE -- From the 11th-floor office of a brand new bank they helped create, Jose Gavina and longtime friend Manuel Remon take a break from high finance and enjoy a panoramic view of the San Fernando Valley.

Since arriving in Los Angeles more than 30 years ago from Cuba, the two men have watched out for each other and their extended families.

Now fixtures in the city's rising Latino business community, they hope to help other Latinos make it big in Southern California.

Gavina and Remon are among the 30 founders of Americas United Bank, the region's first Latino-owned and managed commercial bank in more than 30 years. It had its grand opening Thursday.

``There are still a lot in the community that don't trust banks. We are here to serve them,'' Gavina said from the bank's only branch.

Occupying the 11th floor of an office building in Glendale's business district, Americas United employs immigrants from Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico and around the Americas who speak fluent Spanish. Bank officials say the team will reach out to a community that has been ignored for decades by traditional banks.

The founders -- half of whom are immigrants from across the Americas -- have left other banks to form a commercial bank catering to the burgeoning Latino business community.

Surprisingly, even though one in 10 of the nation's Latino-owned companies is based in Los Angeles, Americas United is the first commercial bank to serve them in more than 30 years.

Instead, many foreign and national banks cater to the lucrative, Latino remittance business that helps immigrants send billions of dollars to their families in Latin America every year.

But industry insiders say they expect to see more banks moving into the Latino commercial banking sector to pick up the latent demand.

Earlier this week the mostly Latino-owned Promerica opened its doors downtown, and boxer Oscar De La Hoya is looking at opening a commercial bank.

``This is the beginning of the movement towards banks that will cater to this ethnic community,'' said Edward Carpenter, chairman and CEO of Carpenter & Company, an Irvine-based investment company that represents both Americas United Bank and Promerica.

``Right now, the number of Hispanic banks to population and the number of Hispanic business is staggeringly low by comparison to other states. For example, there are 32 Cuban banks in Florida and the Cuban population is 1 million. There is only one Hispanic bank in Los Angeles County and there are 4.5 million Hispanics.''

While other ethnic communities have seen their banking institutions flourish, Latinos have largely focused on other industries.

Also, banking analysts say strict banking regulations and a lack of capital have made it hard for Latinos to enter the Southern California banking industry.

Roberto Barragan, president of the Valley Economic Development Center and board member of Encino-based California United Bank, said qualified Latino bankers also have found it hard to rise to the top in the regional banking industry.

``Look at the executives at most banks, you find few Latino vice presidents or senior vice presidents. Yes, we can manage banks or branches and regions, but when it comes to the vice president title or executive vice president title, it's few and far between.''

Under state rules, at least 25 percent of a bank's board must be comprised of experienced members. In Los Angeles, industry analysts say few Latinos qualify.

About 350 mostly Latino investors raised $30 million to found Americas United, which will serve small- and medium-size businesses.

Investors include men like Gavina, owner of Gavina Coffee, or Mexican immigrant Carlos Galvan, owner of La Amopola Mexican Deli in Compton and Downey.

``There are efforts from the larger banks to Latinos but they don't unerstand idiosyncracies,'' said Remon, America United's board chairman, who during the '80s helped orchestrate the expansion of Banco Popular, a Puerto Rican bank, to Los Angeles.

``We (Latinos) shake hands, give (our clients) a hug. We feel that's important. We trust each other. That's not what other major banks do. We are warm.''

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Americas United Bank Chairman of the Board Manuel Remon and President CEO Gil Dalmau, from left, in their new Glendale office Thursday, hope to help Latinos.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer