FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2016

CONSULATE GENERAL OF MEXICO, DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND CITI RELEASE NEW REPORT:
VENTANILLA DE ASESORÍA FINANCIERA PROVIDES FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND COUNSELING TO MORE THAN 17,200 MEXICAN NATIONALS IN NEW YORK CITY

The Second Anniversary of the Financial Counseling Window Kicks Off the Consulate’s Financial Education Week 2016

NEW YORK, NY – Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) First Deputy Commissioner Alba Pico, Consul General of Mexico Ambassador Sandra Fuentes-Berain and Citi Community Development released a report today, Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera: Program Insights for the Field, showing the results of the first year of the Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera (Financial Empowerment Window). In just one year, the Ventanilla provided financial education or counseling to more than 17,200 Mexican nationals in New York and helped nearly 1,000 Mexican nationals file taxes for the first time in the United States. To date, these numbers have more than doubled. The financial empowerment at the Ventanilla has touched the lives of more than 44,000 Mexican nationals in New York City. The announcement took place at the celebration of the second anniversary of the Ventanilla, which also kicked off the Consulate’s fifth Financial Education Week. The first two years of the program were made possible through the generous support from Citi Community Development in partnership with the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. Counseling services are provided by Ariva.

“The Mexican community is one of the largest immigrant groups in New York City and while our Financial Empowerment Centers reach a high number of New Yorkers, we still had not reached this community,” said DCA First Deputy Commissioner Alba Pico. “Addressing income inequality is a key priority for Mayor de Blasio and this program is one of the ways to address that. We’re proud of the great milestones we’ve reached and look forward to not only increasing the number of Mexican nationals we reach but helping other municipalities and consulates implement this program using the findings of this report.”

Read the full press release: Ventanilla de Asesoria Financiera Results