And according to the U.S. Census, the number of prosperous Hispanic households -- those with incomes of at least $100,000 -- rose 137 percent between 1990 and 2000.

But while Hispanic wealth continues to grow, many Latinos still lack the tools they need to invest the fruits of their labor, financial planning experts say.

More and more, financial planners and banking institutions are stepping up to make sure that the bounty does not remain under the mattress and goes into the economy instead.

They're offering new services to people with different levels of assimilation and financial savvy, from uneducated immigrant laborers to Hispanic professionals with master's degrees. They're creating cheaper ways to send money home. And they're providing services to help people get established in the community.

"We have found that most of the newly arrived are new to the financial industry," said Eusebio Rivera, Hispanic Initiative executive for Bank of America. "Those individuals don't have bank accounts in their country, or they don't trust the institution, as the banking industries of many Latin American countries have had challenges in the past."

Many of these immigrants are in the country illegally, but that doesn't mean they're not bankable, he said.

"They need basic products like checking and savings accounts," Rivera said.

Many banks nowadays accept the "matricula consular," an ID issued by Mexican consulates.

"We're not in the immigration area," Rivera said. "We must see that customers who come here with business can do it like everybody else." The U.S. Department of Treasury recently ruled that the matricula was an acceptable form of ID for financial institutions.

Credit unions have been particularly aggressive in going after the market, experts say.

Dallas-based City Credit Union, for example, partners with the Dallas Police Department and the Mexican consulate to offer seminars to undocumented immigrants about how they can use the matricula consular to join the credit union. Immigrants often carry around large quantities of cash, which makes them a ripe target for robberies.

"The Police Department has shown us that crime rates have decreased" in areas where the seminars have been held, said Amy Ecker, City Credit Union's marketing director.

Credit unions are offering cheaper ways to send money home by way of the International Remittance Network.

Linda Webb-Manon, spokeswoman for the Texas Credit Union League, said 69 Texas credit unions have joined IRnet. Through IRnet, individuals can send $1,000 for about $10, compared with a $50 fee through Western Union.

The league has joined with its Mexican equivalent, the Caja Popular Mexicana, to facilitate sending money across the border.

Bank of America also jumped on the bandwagon with the SafeSend program, which provides recipients in Mexico with an ATM card they can use to withdraw money deposited by their family members in the United States. The fee is $10 for a remittance of $1,500.

There's a market, too, for services that help Hispanics establish themselves in the United States.

Both newly arrived immigrants and those in the transitional period -- those who have been in the country anywhere from three to 10 years -- prefer to speak Spanish, Rivera said. This transitional group constitutes 51 percent of U.S. Hispanics, he said.

"They need credit cards, mortgage loans and car loans," Rivera said. "They are increasingly acculturated. They're into 401(k) accounts, IRAs, and into saving for the education of their children."

To tap that market, Bank of America is seeking bilingual associates and will open test stores in McAllen, Texas, and San Ysidro, Calif.

"They'll be set up a little differently to welcome Latinos," Rivera said. "It could be the colors; it could be the look."

Wells Fargo launched a Latino Business Service program in 1997. So far, the program has loaned $1.6 billion to Latino-owned businesses.

And the company's home mortgage department just launched a Hispanic Customer Service Center to offer step-by-step guidance in Spanish on purchasing a home.

Of course, it's not just about language. It's also about culture.

That's where people like Julie Stav come in. A financial planner for more than 20 years, Stav gained recognition with her PBS show "Getting Your Share.''

She joined efforts with the General Electric Financial Planning Center recently to create a financial advice Web site in Spanish, midinero.com.

Stav said Hispanics have to overcome cultural roadblocks in order to reap the benefits of American capitalism.

"A lot of Hispanics believe that destiny is already written," said Stav. And many Latinos come from countries where wealth is associated with corruption, and Catholic culture instills shame on the rich.

"Many people think that being rich is bad and that God loves poor people more," she said.

On the other hand, Hispanics accord a great deal of import to family.

"They're interested in planning for their children and grandchildren," said Paula Elerick Espinosa, financial consultant with Salomon Smith Barney in Dallas. "My work with Hispanic clients is about the importance of establishing a relationship with them and their extended families."

Also, Hispanic families invest conservatively and tend to save.

"Hispanics are incredibly good savers. They tend to shy away from debt," Elerick Espinosa said. "A lot of that wealth is passed from one generation to the other."

Financial services companies have realized, at the least, the importance of services en Espanol.

"Of the 600 certified financial planners that belong to our organization, 1 or 2 percent speak Spanish," said Shashin Shah, spokesman for the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Financial Planners Association. "There is an untapped market for financial planning in other languages."

-- Angel Gonzalez