Banking on Brownsville

In April, Inter National Bank opened two new branches, including locations in Brownsville and Laredo, bringing to 23 the number of banking centers on the Texas-Mexico border.

In 2006, INB merged with Banorte, Mexico's fifth largest bank. With its newest branches, INB continues to position itself as a bi-national, bi-currency financial group.

"We have positioned ourselves as a bi-cultural, contemporary, lifestyle banking brand," said Carlos Garza, president and CEO of INB.

The Mexican banking system has approximately $14 billion in U.S. deposits within the country, and Mexican nationals have an estimated $35 billion in deposits abroad, Grupo Financiero Banorte reported.

To capture its share, INB's strategy focuses on commercial and retail banking, wealth management, and especially the remittance market, according to a company report on cross-border banking.

The banking group highlighted that with the acquisition of UniTeller, a wire transfer service based in New Jersey, through which INB can offer its clients discounts on remittances.

"The border region continues to grow at a very fast pace and our goal is to provide quality financial products and services for commercial and retail banking customers on both sides of the border," Garza said.

In recent years the Brownsville-Harlingen metropolitan statistical area has added a number of new banks.

According to the most recent data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which each year takes a snapshot of the banking industry by metropolitan area, the Brownsville-Harlingen msa has added 18 banks since 2004.

When the FDIC takes its snapshot later this year, that number is sure to grow by several more. Even with the growth of late, Brownsville is in no danger of saturating the market.

In a study by Kory Killgo, a financial industry analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Brownsville is among under-banked cities compared to cities of similar size.

"Banks in the United States have become very attractive to Mexican nationals that want dollar denominated assets," Garza said. "It's a safe way to enjoy the benefits of a global economy."