Leading Question

As Hispanic workers have moved to Miami, Panama and other areas in search of jobs, banks, doctors and other businesses have seen a decline in business.

"We’ve lost people. They just can’t find jobs. They’ve lost their homes," says Veronica Culbertson, a marketing professional and president of the Southwest Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Businesses connected to the housing industry, including mortgage brokers, title companies, insurance firms, transportation companies, contractors and construction suppliers have been some of the hardest hit, says Luis A. Bernal, a business communications consultant and chairman of the Naples-based Council for Hispanic Business Professionals.

Bill Cacho, a mortgage loan originator with Fifth Third Bank in Naples, has seen a drop in his Hispanic clientele, which represented 70 percent of his customer base at one time.

"A lot of them were self-employed, Hispanic truck drivers that owned their own trucks," he says. "While the boom was going on and everybody was building, they had plenty of work. Now they’re parking their trucks. They’re trying to find other jobs. Some have been able to; some have not. Basically they’re in a tough situation."

He adds that some are leaving the area; others are losing their homes.

In 2005, when he closed $23 million in 127 loans, Hispanic customers—from attorneys to real estate agents to restaurateurs—represented typically six to seven of the average of 10 closings a month. Last year, he closed $15.1 million in mortgages, averaging about five a month. Hispanics represented only two or three of those closings.

"The [lending] guidelines have gotten tougher, [and] the work’s not there, so people aren’t applying for mortgages as much," Cacho says.

When they do apply, it’s tougher to get approval because many applicants don’t have a steady income as a result of the real estate market.

"One thing kind of snowballed the other," he says. "We’re in a really tough market right now."

Naples family practice physician Yovanni Tineo, who has a large Hispanic patient base, told Bernal her practice lost 25 clients when their employer, an electric construction supplier, closed.

Those staying in the area are becoming more careful with their spending habits when it comes to eating out and other non-essential expenses, Bernal says.

"The purchasing power of Hispanics has been affected," Culbertson says. "They can’t buy the way they used to buy. They can’t give themselves little pleasures, and they have to cut back on their budgets."