Putting the Emphasis on Community

The Humboldt Park branch of Popular Community Bank sits at the corner of Pulaski Road and North Avenue in Chicago, a rare new building in a hard-worn corridor on the city's northwest side. A little more than a year ago, Banco Popular chose Illinois to begin a rebranding campaign, renaming itself Popular Community Bank to broaden the firm's appeal beyond its core Hispanic demographic, and to capitalize on the relatively good name of community banks. In Humboldt Park, at Banco Popular's largest Chicago location, manager Josephine Pacheco proves her branch worthy of having "community" in its name. The bank's new, Anglicized name is perhaps getting good traction in some markets, like the Koreatown section of Los Angeles. But in Humboldt Park, the rebranding effort often goes unnoticed.