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The economic impact of Latinos in the United States has been growing at more than double the rate of the overall U.S. economy, according to the latest Latino GDP report, released Wednesday by a team of researchers from California Lutheran University and UCLA.

It’s the first time in the report’s history the figure has climbed above $3 trillion. If Latinos in the U.S. were a nation, its economy would be the fifth largest in the world, bigger than that of the United Kingdom, India or France. READ MORE AT VC STAR

Hispanic American financial institutions were created to provide services to low-income and minority communities, particularly Hispanic American communities. Historically, Hispanic Americans have been affected by discriminatory lending practices like redlining and experienced limited economic opportunities to build wealth.

Hispanic American banks were founded in areas where minority communities lived. These financial institutions were able to connect with their local communities and fill the banking gap by addressing areas like language and culture. READ MORE AT INSIDER

Investing in stocks or opening retirement savings accounts has long been elusive for many Latinos, but social media and podcasts that offer culturally relevant financial coaching are turning that on its head. U.S. Latinos' economic power is growing, yet they are less likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to have savings, retirement and non-retirement investment accounts. READ MORE AT AXIOS

According to the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), significant wealth disparities exist between families of different races and ethnicities, including between white households and Hispanic/Latino households. White families have a median wealth of $188,200, whereas Hispanic families have a median wealth of $36,100. Another way to look at the SCF data is that the average white family has five times the wealth of the average Hispanic family. READ MORE AT BROOKINGS

A recent study finds the financial capability of Latinos improved over the last decade, but obstacles to Latino wealth remain.

Between 2009 and 2021, the number of Latinos reporting that they had set aside some amount of emergency savings nearly doubled, from 29% in 2009 to 48% in 2021. On the whole, Latino adults reported they were “better able to manage everyday money matters” and experienced less “financial fragility” in 2021 compared to 2009. READ MORE AT MARKETWATCH

Some educators and advocates say the best way to break the cycle of poverty is by accessing well-paid STEM jobs, as well as the many scholarships that go unawarded each year due to a lack of applicants. In some places, the door seems tightly shut. In Silicon Valley, for example, where the largest number of STEM jobs in the country are concentrated, and where the Latino population is almost 50 percent, less than 3 percent of high-tech, high-wage jobs are filled by Latino professionals. READ MORE AT GOVTECH

Latino adults have gotten better over the past 12 years at budgeting, managing debt and building personal wealth, according to a new report by the foundation arm of Wall Street's brokerage regulator. But the Hispanic community still faces gaps in financial knowledge, the study found.

Fewer Latinos reported difficulty in paying expenses in 2021 compared to 2009 (50% versus 67%), according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's educational foundation. READ MORE AT FINANCIAL PLANNING

Even though Latinos are the second-largest ethnic group in the U.S., they’re underrepresented across many industries, including finance, which can have long-term effects on the ability to grow wealth. Lack of access to capital markets makes it harder for Latinos to build meaningful wealth. It also means they’re underrepresented as shareholders of companies if they aren’t holding stocks and that they’re not lending a proportional voice to investing decisions. READ MORE AT CNBC

Millennial age groups – born mid 1980s to early 2000s – now have more money at hand than they have ever controlled before. And they are spending it, says Olivia Johnson, assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Consumer Sciences at the University of Houston College of Technology.

Tech gear, cars, travel, fashion, furniture, houses, home security, insurance – everything young consumers might want and would likely need – form a retail turf being fought over by companies seeking to occupy that market segment. READ MORE AT UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

The market for luxury brands is rapidly changing with a boom in the Hispanic consumer market, the fastest-growing demographic of households with incomes of $150k+, according to two new studies.

The rapidly rising affluence of Hispanics, their greater representation compared to other ethnicities in the top two quintiles, and the fact they are the fastest growing ethnicity bar none means they are an increasingly important demographic for brands to understand. READ MORE AT FORBES

Latinos account for the fastest-growing portion of US GDP. So much so, that if we considered US Latinos as their own country, it would be third only to the GDP growth rate of China and India in the past decade.1 At a time of economic uncertainty with concerns about a possible recession growing, consumers are looking for additional support.

Latinos are conscious of their impact, choosing brands that value the environment and their employees, all of which makes them more influential than their income levels would suggest. READ MORE AT MCKINSEY.COM

Even though Latinos are the second largest ethnic group in the U.S., they’re underrepresented across many industries, including finance, which can have long-term effects on the ability to grow wealth. A group of Latino-led and focused venture capital firms is looking to change that.

Lack of access to capital markets makes it harder for Latinos to build meaningful wealth. It also means they’re underrepresented as shareholders of companies if they aren’t holding stocks and that they’re not lending a proportional voice to investing decisions. READ MORE AT CNBC

The total economic output of Latinos across the U.S. was nearly $2.8 trillion in 2020, or more than 13% of the country’s GDP. Latino GDP was highest in the finance and real estate sector, which represented $460 billion of the total.As a group, however, the most significant data point in the report is what Latinos spend annually. In 2020, personal consumption accounted for nearly $14.1 trillion of the nation’s GDP and U.S. Latinos represented $1.84 trillion of that total.

Latino spending is greater than the economies of Canada or South Korea. Or in national terms, Latinos’ consumption rivals the entire economies of New York or Texas. READ MORE AT KEARNEY HUB

Latinos make solid and consistent contributions to Illinois’ population and labor force.

Were it not for Latinos, the state’s population and workforce would have contracted. The group contributed more than $97 billion to Chicago’s economy from 2010-2018, according to the recently released 2022 Chicago Metro Latino GDP Report. READ MORE AT CHICAGO REPORTER

Women of all races who worked full time, year-round in 2020 were paid on average just 83 cents for every dollar paid to men, according to a National Women's Law Center report released ahead of Equal Pay Day on Tuesday. The symbolic day marks how far into the year most women must work to earn what men were paid in the previous year.

“It seems like it’s just a few pennies on the dollar, but it adds up,” Jasmine Tucker, the report’s author, told NBC News. “But Latinas in particular face some of the largest wage gaps.” Latinas only earn 57 cents for every dollar paid to a non-Hispanic man — meaning they have to work at least 21 months, nearly two years, to match a white man’s yearly income. READ MORE AT NBCNEWS

McKinsey research reveals interventions that can help boost Latino participation in the US economy and strengthen the nation’s economic performance overall. 

Senior Partner, Lucy Pérez, how greater support for Latino workers, business owners, consumers, savers, and investors in the United States could create economic opportunities not just for individuals and families in this demographic but also for the whole country. READ MORE AT MCKINSEY RESEARCH

We have witnessed the tremendous buying power of Hispanics as their homeownership rates skyrocket. And yet, many Spanish-speaking customers run into roadblocks when it comes to financing. According to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, Latinos experienced a 19.1% home purchase denial rate for conventional loans and were 81% more likely to be denied than their non-Latino counterparts. READ MORE AT NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

Jefa-Owned (owned by a Latina Boss), a national visibility campaign under PepsiCo's Juntos Crecemos platform, calls upon Latinas in the food and beverage sector to apply for the Juntos Crecemos Hispanic Digital & Delivery Program, an eight-week personalized business building program.

To mark the launch, PepsiCo leaders joined Latina business owners for the Nasdaq Opening Bell Ceremony, where they unveiled the first-ever Jefa-Owned neon sign, designed by PepsiCo. READ MORE AT CISION

A new study finds many Latino parents are hoping their children make better choices with their money than they did. Only 51 percent of Latinos would want their children to make the same financial decisions (saving, investing, and budgeting) that they did.

A recent survey of 2,000 Americans between 18 and 41, half of whom identify as Latino, found that non-Latino respondents were much more likely to want their children to learn from and model their own money habits (76% vs. 51%). READ MORE AT STUDYFINDS

Right now, Latinas earn $.57for every dollar a non-Hispanic man makes, which adds up to thousands of dollars lost in wages a year — and more than a million over a lifetime. That means even Latinas who work full-time and year-round may never catch up to their male counterparts. HEAR CONVERSATION ON NPR