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How Banreservas mobilised diaspora capital
Diaspora families want to invest back home, but distance, distrust, and complexity hold them back. Banreservas asked a different question: What if we treated diaspora not as a demographic to serve, but as strategic economic partners?
 
Banking | Featured
Author: Leonardo Aguilera, CEO, Banreservas
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Banreservas’ international expansion strategy is centred on strengthening economic ties with the Dominican diaspora as a strategic economic partner, rather than just operating as a full retail bank abroad, and the bank has successfully used mortgage fairs as part of this expansion strategy. These client-centric engagement events bring together diaspora clients, credible Dominican real estate developers, fiduciary-backed projects and bank representatives in one venue to help address key diaspora challenges such as distance and lack of trusted intermediaries, legal and documentation uncertainty, difficulty assessing projects remotely and limited access to tailored financing.
By simplifying the sending process from the US and Europe, reducing operational friction, and offering greater convenience and security, Banreservas has incentivised increased use of formal remittance channels. This strategy has had, and is expected to continue to have, a highly positive impact on remittance flows to the Dominican Republic, both in terms of volume and formalisation.
Reimagining the diaspora relationship
Banreservas’ model relies on representative offices set in strategic cities to provide advisory, pre-qualification and customer support services, while the financing and account opening itself is referred to Banreservas in the Dominican Republic, where they are operatively managed and booked.
The US (New York and Miami) and Spain (Madrid) were chosen as priority hubs to channel diaspora engagement and long-term investment because they are home to some of the largest and most economically active Dominican communities worldwide. By establishing representative offices in these strategic locations, Banreservas delivers tailored financial services to historically underserved expatriate communities, enabling them to invest, save, and build wealth in the Dominican Republic while contributing to national economic development, unlocking sustainable growth opportunities and deepening its role as a financial bridge between Dominicans abroad and their home country.
Banreservas uses mortgage fairs to compress what is traditionally a long, fragmented cross‑border process into a single, guided experience that combines education, advisory, and support. Diaspora clients can receive on-the-spot pre-qualification, explore real estate projects nationwide, and receive information and guidance about loan processes, although final approvals and disbursements are processed in the Dominican Republic.
The response in the US and Madrid has been characterised by sustained momentum and the diversity of participant profiles, from first-time buyers to repeat investors and returning nationals, which suggests that the fairs are resonating beyond a narrow segment of the diaspora. In US cities with long-established Dominican communities, the
 
