”Certainly, our performance has not been up to our standards,” said Chief Executive Richard Carrion in the filing, adding that the bank tried to improve results during 2006. “Unfortunately those efforts proved to be insufficient.”

What remains unclear is the effect on mortgage brokers who cater to the hispanic population for customers. Banco Popular is the largest wholesale lender for mortgage brokers looking to lend to homebuyers who do not have a valid social security number.  People who are unable or unwilling to get valid social security number can register for and receive a valid Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). This number makes employment and credit available to people even if they are not legally in the United States.

While immigration reform continues to be a hotly debated issue in Washington, people continue to have the desire and need to buy homes. Mortgage brokers specializing in this type of clientelle may find themselves without a lender to place the loans. Banco Popular, while not the only “ITIN” lender mortgage brokers could use, was by far the largest and most consistent. Because they were backed by a large bank, they were able to stay consistently in the business unlike other lenders in the sector who’s capital was more volatile.