.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} When I received a press release announcing that The Sallie Mae Fund would be launching its “Paying for College Bus Tour” campaign from the Iowa Latino Heritage Festival in Des Moines Sept. 8-9, I sat up and took notice. It seems that more than ever, the financial services industry is acknowledging that Hispanic business is good business, and that investment in the Hispanic community will yield positive future returns.

My first thought upon reading the release was, “Why would a national student loan organization like Sallie Mae pick Des Moines to launch a minority-focused initiative?”

“Iowa kept coming up as a state with a rapidly growing Latino population,” said Kathleen deLaski, president of The Sallie Mae Fund, explaining that demographic research coupled with Iowa’s national election year media attention contributed to the selection of Des Moines. DeLaski said, “We thought Des Moines would be a great jumping-off point for our tour.”

Upon reflection, I realized the brilliance of the choice. Ethnic diversity is no longer a coastal phenomenon. Hispanics are now as much a part of our dynamic state economy as Northern European immigrants were in the late 1800s. Projections indicate that by 2030 nearly 10 percent of our population will be of Hispanic origin, according to the State Data Center of Iowa and the Iowa Division of Latino Affairs.

Sallie Mae and other national financial institutions are tracking Latino demographics and are targeting this growing community both as a new pool of talent for our work force and as a customer base for financial products and services.

Though The Sallie Mae Fund’s bus tour is an altruistic project of its not-for-profit arm, it isn’t a stretch to see that its for-profit organization has ulterior business motives in reaching out to the Hispanic community. By planting seeds of brand recognition now, Sallie Mae is likely to be the top-of-mind lender for Latinos down the road. It is not alone in this marketing approach.

The festival has seen steady growth in financial services sponsorship since its inception. Financial powerhouses at this year’s festival include Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Principal Financial Group Inc., ING Group NV, State Farm, American Family Insurance and Farm Bureau Financial Services.

James Willer, senior vice president and branch manager of the Des Moines office of Citi Smith Barney, a repeat festival sponsor, said, “We see these minority communities as growing marketplaces for our financial products and services.”

The Sallie Mae Fund’s bus tour hopes to communicate the benefits of a college education, to demonstrate that college is affordable and accessible to all, and to increase college enrollment of low-income and minority students.

From here, the bus tour embarks on a 65-city cross-country trip. With more than 35,000 people expected at the festival, financial services companies are realizing that this is one bus they cannot afford to miss.

Suzanna De Baca is the president of Private Capital Solutions Group. She is a registered representative and financial adviser for Park Avenue Securities LLC.