Sylvia Valentino, of the Urban League of Rhode Island, signs a pledge to help stamp out financial illiteracy after a news conference at Progreso Latino in Central Falls yesterday.

The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer

Domestic Bank yesterday unveiled a plan to give 12 agencies a total of $1 million to promote financial literacy in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

The bank agreed in June to pay $1.85 million in penalties to settle complaints with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) about deceptive mortgage-lending practices. As part of the agreement with the OTS, the bank set aside $5 million to reimburse any borrowers who were harmed by the practices. Also, the bank’s founder, chairman and chief executive officer, Nathaniel B. Baker, agreed to step down.

“It’s more than just fulfilling an OTS obligation,” new CEO Dean T. Holt said yesterday. “I think it’s a great opportunity for this bank to work with the community we bank.”

Holt said that a substantial percentage of Domestic’s customers are Hispanic and that guided the bank in selecting the agencies to receive money under the financial literacy program. Holt also said the bank looked for organizations that could add to its contribution. “What we tried to do was give to agencies that can multiple that effect.”

The United Way of Rhode Island will add $200,000 of its own money to a $350,000 contribution from the bank, according to a spokeswoman for Domestic. The United Way will then distribute that money to other organizations through a grant program.

Another $75,000 will go to Progreso Latino, a Central Falls-based agency that seeks to empower the Hispanic community through education, training and advocacy.

The other 10 agencies to receive money from Domestic have been identified, although the amounts they will receive have not been determined. They are: The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island; The Catholic Diocese of Providence; Holy Cross Church of God, in Providence; Holy Name Parish, in Fall River, Mass.; Jewish Family Services of Rhode Island; Kent County Arc, which works with people with developmental disabilities; Latino Public Radio; Pro Home, the Community Action Program for Taunton and Raynham, Mass.; Rhode Island Housing, and the Urban League of Rhode Island.

Holt said the bank hopes to focus on programs that help people organize their personal spending. “I think people really have to know how to budget their finances based on what they make,” he said. “We live in a society where it’s, ‘I want it, and I want it now.’ ”

Latino Public Radio will use its share of the money to support a radio program, “Tu Dinero Tus Finanzas,” or “Your Money, Your Finances.” The one-hour bilingual talk show is broadcast as a class led by an independent financial consultant and supplemented with materials on the Internet.

Pro Home will use its share for programs that help adults manage money and establish good relationships with a bank, that advise people on credit and borrowing before they borrow, that focus on budgeting and tax planning and that help prevent foreclosures.

“There are more than 3,500 Hispanic-owned businesses in Rhode Island,” Ramon Martinez, president and CEO of Progreso Latino, said in a statement. “These businesses are making significant contributions to our economy, and it’s critical for new immigrant communities, who do not understand our country’s credit system, to have education resources available.”

pparker@projo.com