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Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation statistics reveal that as much as half of all U.S. retail banking growth is expected to come from Hispanics, meaning that individuals that speak both Spanish and English will be in high demand. While these six banking professionals work for different banks, in different capacities, they all agree that the industry offers pathways to success.

Omar Torres, a financial analyst at Buffalo, NY-based First Niagara Bank, started with the company in 2012. A graduate of Buffalo’s Canisius College with a BA and MBA, his initial interest in finance came while working in retail marketing. Three years later Torres made a conscious decision to divert his career path toward financial services. “Prior to that, I saw my career taking me to an ad agency or business consulting firm in a larger city,” he recalls, adding that it wasn’t an easy decision to change his career path. “As it turned out, I’m glad I did.”

Today Torres is relied upon to provide analytic support to Retail Leadership at First Niagara, particularly in situations involving marketing and online banking. “I help managers maintain visibility in their budgets and communicate implications resulting from their business decisions,” he explains. He also supports project planning for the bank’s Digital Program, a process that involves business modeling, valuation, and a comprehensive understanding of how investments pay off.

According to Torres, despite the challenging environment of the banking and financial industry today, now is an ideal time for fresh ideas. “Efficiency and opportunity are two words frequently used and demanded by supervisory personnel in banking,” says Torres, who suggests that “change” be added to that list as well. “In the future I see banking remaining as a strong institution – but one that will look a little different. At the end of the day, banking is still necessary and beneficial to consumers and businesses,” he contends. For that reason alone, Torres believes that more exposure to the banking industry will result in more minorities, including Hispanics, seeking a career in this arena.

For all individuals interested in pursuing careers in banking and finance, Torres emphasizes the importance of maintaining an eye for detail, excellence in listening, and problem-solving ability. He further highlights the importance of not being afraid to “jump into the trenches and get your hands dirty.” What he particularly enjoys is working for a company that is open to his ideas and allows him to make an impact. “First Niagara enables me to grow personally and within my career. It’s a place that invests in its people,” he states.

An active community volunteer, Torres believes that the Hispanic community could benefit from more role models to illustrate the broad spectrum of jobs and opportunities in the banking/financial industry. His strategy for growing his visibility and his career is to interact with the “right” people. “People are the best commodity anyone can have. I interact with people to learn. That’s why I’m where I am today,” he says. “I’m also where I am today because of the guidance and continual support I received from my parents and my wife.”

A senior vice president of transaction banking at Union Bank, N.A. a San Francisco-based company with 121,000 employees, Jorge Flores has been with the bank for nearly 20 years. Although being proficient in English and Spanish is not necessarily an advantage in his current position, early on his career it did make a difference. Reflecting on his first years in college, Flores says, “I was fascinated by our country’s pioneering financiers and knew I wanted to be a banker. I also knew what I needed to do to get there. Being able to communicate in two languages was a definite asset.”

Seamlessly merging his passion for finance, numbers, and people skills into a successful career at Union Bank, Flores, a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in economics, immediately immersed himself into the world of banking and finance after graduation. “Based on my personality and my skill set, I knew I would be best suited for providing financial services to individuals and businesses. I chose Union Bank for its impeccable reputation as a responsible and reliable commercial bank,” he explains.

Managing a transaction sales team that supports The Private Bank and wealth market segments of Union Bank keeps Flores busy. “Transaction banking, which allows for the safe, efficient movement of cash and securities around the global financial system, is just part of my job. I’m also responsible for my division’s strategic planning, risk management, budgeting and forecasting, marketing, and expansion oversight,” he explains. Categorizing the banking industry as dynamic and fluid, he attributes changing technology and the emergence of mobile and Internet banking with creating a new set of challenges in a highly regulated industry. “Strict regulation can present many opportunities to stimulate young minds to deliver high-quality financial products within defined parameters,” he remarks.

Discipline, superior communication skills, leadership, and finance acumen are what Flores considers essential for success in banking. He advises those new to the industry to stay focused and execute established goals. Recommending that Latinos broaden their awareness of the banking industry to familiarize themselves with the many career opportunities in this field, he identifies technology, compliance, risk management, and working in retail branch banking as a few. “Mentoring and talking to young people about the industry can open their eyes to various career paths in this sector,” says Flores, who enjoys providing leadership to his team and helping to shape their careers.

Despite a career that spans more than 25 years, Flores has never lost his enthusiasm for involvement in the client experience. “I thoroughly enjoy spending time with my clients in order to understand their financial needs. It’s very much an industry driven by relationships and trust and I enjoy taking the time to build relationships and earn trust,” he states. He stresses that it is important to remain engaged in your job and in your place of employment. “It is essential to be involved in the company’s overall community. Promote yourself by being involved; this will help you get noticed by your peers and superiors,” advises Flores, who serves as a board member of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

For Marisol Gomez, hired recently as a relationship banker at Buffalo, NY-headquartered M&T Bank, being fully bilingual in English and Spanish is a great advantage. Acknowledging that she never anticipated a banking career, she’s finding her experience downright terrific. “Once offered the job I thoroughly researched the bank and found myself awed by its heavy involvement in the community,” she states. “For me, that was an important asset. So, too, was its outstanding financial reputation. I knew I would be joining a stable, growing company with a great future and a current workforce of 16,000. With this in mind, I took the leap and joined M&T a little more than a year ago.”

Each day Gomez can be found in the “customer facing part” of a downtown Buffalo branch located in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood. Her duties involve working on the teller line, selling and referring bank products such as mortgages, investments, and insurance, and working with clients to make sure they take full advantage of all the bank has to offer.

According to Gomez, the banking industry affords individuals the opportunity to become involved in interesting, challenging, competitive, and rewarding careers. “Regardless of the economy, banks are here to stay,” she states. Reflecting on her position, she says, “It taught me much more than I ever imagined.” Currently working on a bachelor’s degree at Buffalo State College, she believes that many in the Hispanic community lack financial education and contends that more Hispanic individuals might choose banking and finance as a career once they learn the basic skills that could better their lives.

As an Equal Opportunity employer committed to maintaining a diverse workplace reflective of the communities in which it does business, M&T participates in several events that help create a meaningful local recruiting process. Some of these relationships include outreach to such national organizations as the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and Robert Toigo Foundation. In her role as relationship banker, Gomez has ample opportunity to demonstrate her caring and compassionate nature – a must for someone in her position. “I’ve been given many opportunities to help people with the great products M&T offers. Helping people is what I care about most,” says Gomez, whose strategy for success is staying positive and persistent. “Persistence is the key to achieving anything in life,” she asserts.

“Although I initially aspired to be a medical doctor, being around hospitals during my father’s illness diminished that desire,” states Jonathan Felipe Smith. Having met a financial institution recruiter who learned of his background, “he suggested that I might consider a career as a ‘financial doctor.’ That option appealed to me as I found it another way to be of service to others,” Smith says.

After graduating with a bachelor of science in business administration from the A. J. Palumbo School of Business at Duquesne University, Smith began his professional career as a financial advisor with a major financial institution. Soon after, he brought his expertise to BNY Mellon’s Pittsburgh offices. “BNY Mellon has evolved from its origins as a traditional bank into a global financial services company,” remarks Smith, who has been with the bank for nearly five years. With 50,000 employees in 35 countries and 100 markets, BNY Mellon supports clients globally and provides services and products that cover the entire investment lifecycle.

Today, as officer, BNY Mellon wealth management, Smith’s chief duty is business development. “I initiate and foster relationships with prospective high income clients on a national basis,” he says, noting that his client pool consists of individuals who have reached a qualified level of interest in partnering with BNY Mellon. Once that interest is determined, Smith facilitates an introduction with a director of wealth management located in the prospective client’s geographic region for a more formalized conversation.

Within the banking and financial industry, “the opportunities are diverse and the career options tremendous,” says Smith. “There will always be a need for individuals to service the assets of others, especially as banks evolve into more virtual, online roles.”

At BNY Mellon people are definitely the power behind the institution’s organic, global growth. In support of that, too, is BNY Mellon’s robust recruitment strategy that includes targeting minority and bilingual individuals. “My mother’s first language was Spanish and when I interact with clients for whom Spanish is their first language, I communicate with them in their native language. Doing so often results in an increased level of comfort,” Smith states.

The ability to communicate across all levels of an organization and with different stakeholders is paramount, notes Smith, whose favorite aspect of his job is conversing with different people every day. “From client to service partner, effective communication allows for greater productivity and success,” he says. “Hard skills, such as accounting and finance are taught and learned, but soft skills are often overlooked educationally.

Smith also enjoys interacting with people while participating in various diversity initiatives at BNY Mellon and Duquesne University, where he is a third-year law student. His career advice to others: “Don’t be afraid to think ‘outside the box.’ By fulfilling my desire to help people, my career as a ‘financial doctor’ led me to a world of vast opportunities,” says Smith.

During his 20-year banking career, Felipe Basulto, has experienced a wide range of banking activities, from retail banking to managed accounting, loan servicing, business banking, and wealth management. Now retail market manager at Cherry Hill, NJ-based TD Bank, Basulto considers himself lucky to have had such in-depth experiences in so many facets of the banking industry.

Fluent in Spanish, Basulto, who concentrated in business management at Loyola University, finds being bilingual particularly advantageous in the Miami, FL market he serves. “My background and Spanish proficiency enables me to better serve and meet the needs of both Hispanic customers and employees,” he states. “Providing customers with the opportunity to interact with employees who speak their language and know their culture lends itself to a more inclusive and trusting atmosphere where customers feel more comfortable doing business,” he contends.

With Miami having a recognized, well-established banking industry, choosing banking as a career seemed natural to Basulto. “Once I became immersed in the business and financial fields, I fell in love with the customer aspect. Offering support and solutions, as well as meeting needs and interacting with customers, turned banking from a job into a passion,” he remarks.

According to Basulto, a career in banking offers significant insight into customer needs. As the banking world continues to evolve, TD and other banks will have more ways in which to interact with customers through online and mobile delivery channels, leading to more opportunities to deliver on the promise of providing legendary customer services.

Acknowledging that the Hispanic community needs people in the financial world who understand their culture, Basulto says, “Who better to serve the Hispanic community than Hispanic financial professionals? Hispanics educated in business and finance are an asset to both the community they serve and the financial services industry in general.”

As a population, Hispanics are looking to grow and develop professionally and that, according to Basulto, can lead to greater financial fulfillment. “With many Hispanic individuals increasingly eager to join the banking community, it is up to those in the industry to facilitate their entry,” he states, adding that 27,000-employee TD Bank is determined to be a place where employees and customers feel comfortable and supported.

For individuals interested in a banking career, Basulto stresses the need for flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to lead by sharing a vision that resonates with others. During his career at TD Bank, Basulto’s team of 180 employees was recognized for its commitment to bank goals. “Serving employees and helping them grow and cultivate their career potential is extremely rewarding,” he says.

A customer-centric organization, TD delivers service and convenience with “WOW!,” a core competency deeply embedded throughout the bank’s brand at every level of the company, notes Basulto. “TD is an extraordinary place to work. It develops, rewards, includes, and supports all employees,” he states.

Looking back over his years in banking, Basulto says, “My greatest successes came when I had the best attitude, sought feedback from mentors, and was adaptable to changing environments. These are critical traits for all people in their professional and personal lives.”

After relocating to Tupelo, MS from Albuquerque, NM and continuing to work in the medical field, Leticia Gassaway felt called to be more directly involved in the Hispanic community. In January 2001 she made a career move to Tupelo-head quartered Bancorp South. With a BS in molecular biology and BA in Spanish literature from the University of New Mexico, she began her career at 4,000-employee Bancorp South as a bilingual customer service representative. “In this position I soon became aware of a huge communication gap. Despite the fact that many Hispanic individuals speak English, they often do so with limited ability,” says Gassaway. “This language barrier can inhibit people seeking needed services and even cause them to fall prey to unethical practices.”

Gassaway, who is proficient in English and Spanish, says in her current position as Hispanic marketing manager, bilingual ability is essential. “Customers typically feel more comfortable speaking to one of their own,” she notes. “Being able to converse in their native language enables me to reach them more effectively.”

Tasked with making Spanish-language services available and spearheading community outreach, Gassaway conducts the Bank’s English-Spanish translations and teaches financial literacy classes in Spanish using bilingual FDIC resources. “The intent is to reach the Hispanic community and make bank services accessible. “We want our Hispanic customers to view Bancorp South as a trusted source for their financial needs,” she says.

Noting that the Hispanic market represents a formidable customer base with amazing potential, Gassaway believes financial institutions should take more advantage of this market and commit more resources to this promising market share growth opportunity. She cites FDIC statistics stating that as much as half of all U.S. retail banking growth is expected to come from Hispanics. Additionally, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, in 2012 Hispanics accounted for 51% of the total U.S. net income of owner households. With that in mind, she contends, the need for bilingual personnel in the financial arena could not look more promising.

Pleased that Bancorp South recognizes the value of reaching out to the Hispanic community, Gassaway deems it a privilege to offer educational programs that instill in the Hispanic population the importance of financial planning, saving, investing, and establishing and maintaining credit. Her passion for this community has motivated her to further her education. She recently earned a master’s degree in teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Mississippi. She is also committed to maintaining an active presence in several community activities, such as the Latin American Business Association, Red Cross, 4-H, and as a board member and officer for El Centro, Inc.

“Teaching adult literacy classes and taking a leadership role in the Hispanic community has additionally, and importantly, benefitted me as well. I find immense satisfaction in knowing that my efforts are able to contribute and inspire others to help close the financial and social gap between Hispanics and mainstream society,” states Gassaway.