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Published: Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2009 / Updated: Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2009 03:00 PM

Hola! BB&T bank catering to Hispanics

Hildefonso Garcia clutched his identification and walked into BB&T Plaza Fiesta. Before the Charlotte man left the bank, he opened both a checking and savings account.

"I feel really good I came to this bank because I want to try to save," Garcia, a native of Mexico, said in Spanish through interpreter and bank manager Fiorella Jimenez-Chirinos. Garcia, 40, went to other banks, but there was a problem, he said.

"Sometimes, I'm a little uncomfortable because of the language barrier," he said.

But not at BB&T Plaza Fiesta.

The Fort Mill Township bank is set to celebrate its grand reopening at noon Sunday. And all the excitement is about a bank that caters to Hispanics.

"I like it here because they speak my language," Garcia said while finishing new account paperwork at the bank anchored off Carowinds Boulevard at 3700 Avenue of the Carolinas inside the Plaza Fiesta mall. "I feel more secure."

That's how banking should be, Jimenez-Chirinos said.

"BB&T hasn't really had a big presence in the Hispanic community although we have multicultural banking centers," Jimenez-Chirinos said. "We wanted to be more opened and welcoming to the Hispanic community and cater to them in their language."

However, she said, sometimes branches had one bilingual employee.

"In past experience, employees spoke Spanish because they learned it, but they didn't know the culture," Jimenez-Chirinos said. "That's a big problem."

Now, all BB&T Plaza Fiesta employees are Hispanic and speak their native tongue as well as English. And the six understand the Hispanic culture and some marked differences Hispanics face when they migrate to the United States.

"They're afraid to put their money in a bank," Jimenez-Chirinos explained. "We're teaching them to get over the fear that they have with banking in their country."

Jimenez-Chirinos said many Hispanics usually have saving accounts, but not checking accounts in their home country.

"If the bank goes bankrupt, they just close the doors, and the customer loses their money because it's not insured," she said.

Money deposited into banks in the United States is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, often referred to as FDIC on bank signs, including one at BB&T Plaza Fiesta.

Garcia is one of 450 people who opened accounts at the bank since its December opening through Feb. 28. Hispanic customers are educated on bank services such as credit, health, life and property insurance and savings and checking accounts, she said.

"If we don't educate them, then they will use it (checking accounts and debit cards) the wrong way and generate overdraft fees," Jimenez-Chirinos said. "We don't want them to feel like their money is disappearing or that we're taking advantage of them."

And the extra attention is paying off.

While African-Americans and caucasian clients make up 10 percent of the bank's customer base, 90 percent of the customer base is Hispanic, Jimenez-Chirinos said.

"They are excited about having a bank that understands them and is here to serve them," she said.

Bank hours are 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Friday; 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more banking details, call 802-8443.