Richard Martinez: bank CEO infuses youth with entrepreneurial spirit.

• Author: Bronikowski, Lynn
• Position: EXECUTIVE edge

RICHARD MARTINEZ GREW UP IN PUEBLO, the son of a steel worker who witnessed firsthand the ups and downs of' the steel industry--long layoffs, strikes and several injuries to his father.

"Even alter being, injured he'd continue to return to work, and work very hard," said Martinez, president and CEO of Denver-based 'Young Americans Bank, which this year marks its 25th anniversary. "My parents had a value of hard work but also had a value that education was No. 1 in their priorities."

Martinez's parents operated on a cash basis, struggled from paycheck to paycheck and rarely discussed finances.

"Money was always a mystery to me. I always knew I wanted to do something with money, so banking was at the top of my list," said Martinez, who majored in finance at Colorado State University and landed a job as a bank examiner for the Federal Reserve where he worked until joining Young Americans Bank in 1999 as a vice president. He later would earn an MBA from Regis University. In 2011, Gov. John Hicken-looper appointed him to the Colorado State Banking Board.

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When Martinez took over the reins as CEO of Young Americans Bank in 2007, the economy was shrinking and so did his organization, which 'vas rounded by cable pioneer Bill Daniels as a state-chartered bank whose customers are under 21.

"We had a few layoff's and streamlined things to get ourselves into a more financially stable situation." Martinez said. "We started building reserves, maintaining all of our programs and continued to serve more kids."

The bank operates as a nonprofit with 16,000 customers, of which 33 percent have accounts under S100. Educational programs in the schools also are a part of Daniels' dream for Young Americans.

In January, Young Americans Bank will open a S400,000 branch in Denver's Green Valley Ranch neighborhood.

"This is an opportunity for us to reach a very needy population with the branch being close to Montbello and in Green Valley, which was heavily hit by foreclosures," Martinez said. "It will...