WASHINGTON – Credit unions courting the nation's growing Hispanic population will discuss effective ways to reach this group in a Callahan-sponsored Webinar Thursday April 28 at 2 p.m. EDT. According to Callahan and Associates Webinar coordinator Mary Royston, financial institutions rightly regard Hispanics as an underserved group because under half have either checking accounts or credit cards compared to the 70 to 80% of non-Hispanic whites who have them. "Further, when it comes to home mortgage loans, a mere five percent of Hispanics have one while 36% of non-Hispanic whites have them," said Royston. "With Hispanics now the largest minority group in the country, representing 14% of our population and the second largest segment of the workforce, there's obviously a need and a great opportunity to serve this expanding market." Statistics show that Hispanics had a purchasing power of $700 billion last year and this is only likely to rise since they represent the youngest minority group with one in seven under the age of 18, she adds. Among credit union leaders speaking on the upcoming Webinar will be Sal Estrada, loan officer at Founders Federal Credit Union in Lancaster, SC, which opened a successful bilingual branch in December 2004. "We're not here just for financial services; our Hispanic group sees us as leaders," said Estrada who has deep roots in the local Hispanic community. "They turn to Founders for more than just financial needs. If they need a doctor or a lawyer, they stop by the credit union that they trust and ask about it." North Carolina-based Charlotte Metro Credit Union and El Monte, California-based SCU Federal Credit Union will also offer case studies of successful Hispanic marketing and outreach efforts. For more information visit www.creditunion.com/events