Hispanic-Led Bank Now Open in Fairfax

Security One Aims to Add Branches as Region's Latino Population Booms

Security One Bank, formed by local Hispanic business leaders, held its grand opening yesterday in the Baileys Crossroads area of Fairfax County with the goal of capturing the region's fastest-growing ethnic market.

The bank is the first Hispanic-led U.S. bank to open in the Washington area. "What we are doing is bringing the community banking model to the Baileys Crossroads area, which has the greatest concentration of Hispanics in the region and yet is dominated by national banking chains," President Carl E. Dodson said. He said 65 percent of Hispanics have bank accounts, compared with 95 percent of non-Hispanics.

The bank opened amid increased competition in the banking industry catering to Hispanic customers. Mainstream national chains have ramped up marketing programs in Spanish. Banks from Latin America have established roots in the United States.

So far, most of its clients are friends and family members of the bank's board and investors. But the bank plans to increase its marketing efforts in all Spanish-language media.

Security One opened last week after raising $15 million in funds through its board, which contributed 25 percent of the capital, and 404 private local investors. With a bilingual staff, the bank offers small-business loans and full retail customer services.

One-third of the population in the Falls Church neighborhood surrounding the bank is Hispanic. Around the region, Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic group, making up almost 10 percent of the population, at 575,854 people.

Dodson said the bank plans to follow the demographic changes of the region, targeting markets where there are large Hispanic populations.

"For the first year, we will concentrate on this first location and then expand probably in Virginia and keep an eye out for expansion in Maryland and Washington, D.C.," Dodson said.

He is also encouraged by recent Census Bureau statistics that show the number of local Hispanic-owned business increased 50 percent, to 28,936, from 1997 to 2002.

The board contains business leaders well known in the Hispanic community. William Soza is the founder and former head of Soza & Co., an accounting and information technology firm that was sold in 2003 to Perot Systems Corp. Ronald Gordon founded ZGS Communications, an owner of Spanish-language television stations and radio channels -- affiliates of Telemundo.