On October 2008, MAF set out to prove the viability of leveraging cultural assets in creating programs that could realistically and quickly move immigrants into the financial mainstream.

And we are doing it with Cestas Populares - a program that helps participants establish or improve their credit scores simply by recognizing, recording and reporting financial activity that occurs in peer lending circles commonly practiced by immigrant communities. Indeed, by formalizing these financial activities, MAF is helping immigrants improve their credit history by valuing their cultural assets; their actual participation in peer lending circles with their family, friends and co-workers.

And in just 12 months, MAF made 87 cesta loans to 79 participants, totaling $105,200 with an average loan amount of $1,209.

The Mission Asset Fund’s Immigrant Financial Integration Initiative (IFII) recently conducted an extensive in-depth survey to analyze the financial attitudes and behaviors of Spanish-speaking Latina/o immigrants who either live or work in San Francisco’s Mission District. The Mission District is a historic gateway for new immigrants and provides a vibrant, living context to understand many of the complex issues that lowincome immigrant families confront across the country.

MAF utilized a participatory action research model to conduct the survey and focus groups. MAF created a survey of 35 questions to gather information about respondents’ personal, household, and financial situation. We also inquired about their views and attitudes about finances and financial institutions. In the course of 6 weeks (May to June 2009), MAF staff and volunteers collected 250 surveys from respondents that represented 10 different countries in Latin America. The survey has a margin of error of plus/minus 6%.

A recent study by Social Compact revealed that 44% of households in the Mission District do not have credit histories. Without credit scores, low-income families are locked out of the low-cost credit market and forced to turn to high-cost fringe establishments for their financial needs.

MAF is addressing this bleak reality through Cestas Populares, a program that helps low-income immigrants build their credit scores and increase their ability to access low-cost credit. Essentially, Cestas Populares formalizes peer lending circles (PLCs) that are common in immigrant communities. Known in Latino communities as ‘cestas’ or ‘tandas’ or ‘cundinas’, PLCs function as rotating interest- and fee-free credit associations. Cestas are formed by participants who agree to make regular contributions to a fund that is then distributed in whole or in part to each contributor in rotation. Once a member has received the fund, the cycle continues until all members receive a distribution.