¡Capital! U.S. Bank & the USHCC have partnered to create ¡Capital!, a first-of-its-kind, strategic, loan program aimed at lending more than one billion dollars over the next five years to small businesses in high-growth Hispanic markets nationwide. U.S. Bank will provide referral payments to the chambers for every loan that is booked through the program. ¡Capital! provides a substantial new revenue and membership stream for local Hispanic chambers, as well as a source of new customers for U.S. Bank. Uniquely designed, the program could generate more than $7 million in funding to USHCC local chambers over a multi-year period based on referral fees paid by U.S. Bank. The referral fee is returned to the referring chamber as a percentage of each loan, line of credit, or lease that is booked in the program.

A USHCC-sponsored private equity fund, Hispanic Capital Partners provides Latino entrepreneurs much-needed capital for growth and expansion. The USHCC has long believed that Hispanic businesses needed more opportunities to gain greater access to capital and through Hispania Capital Partners, which will invest in medium-sized Hispanic-owned firms in the United States . The USHCC raised between $50-$75 million from institutional and individual investors. When the fund was created, Bank One approved a $5 million investment and agreed to help raise an additional million from other institutional investors, and Verizon Communications committed $10 million to the Fund. The Fund also received matching funds from the Small Business Administration for the creation of a Small Business Investment Company. In October of 2003, the Fund made its first investment of $6 million to Rossi Publications, publisher of La Raza newspaper, the largest Spanish-language daily in Chicago , Illinois . For more information and details contact Victor L. Maruri or Carlos Signoret.