Portland, OR, Oct. 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Governor Brown has officially proclaimed October 15-19, 2018 as Community Bank Week in Oregon. The Governor bestowed this proclamation in support of the essential role Oregon’s community banks play in supporting local economies. For more than a century, Oregon community banks have provided the local financial services and support our communities need to prosper and grow.
Beneficial State Bank (Beneficial State), a triple-bottom-line community bank with six branches in Portland, is celebrating Community Bank Week with giveaways at their Oregon branches, employee volunteering with local nonprofits, and a special rate 12-month certificate of deposit account (CDs)--contact an Oregon branch office for details. For each of the first 100 new special-rate CDs opened, Beneficial State will donate $20 to Portland-based nonprofit, Organizing People, Activating Leaders (OPAL). OPAL’s mission is to build power for environmental justice by organizing low-income communities and people of color to achieve a safe and healthy environment where we live, work, learn, play and pray.
Community banks, particularly through lending to small businesses, play a significant role in local economic development efforts, stimulating the economy to produce jobs and create new opportunities. Each year, Oregon’s community banks extend over $8.1 billion in total credit, and Beneficial State strives to extend loans to mission-driven businesses and nonprofits, like one of Roseburg's largest private employers, North River Boats. With capital and support from Beneficial State, North River Boats transferred initially one-third of the company to its employees through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), creating a legacy of ownership in the Roseburg community.
“Beneficial State helps Oregon families achieve financial stability while also providing financing to local businesses and non-profits — keeping our community economically healthy and vibrant,” said Linda Merrill, SVP, Head of Retail Banking PNW and 2018 Oregon Bankers Association Presidential Award recipient. “Beneficial State recently merged with Albina Community Bank and collectively has thrived for more than 20 years thanks to our loyal customers who believe in the community banking business model.”
Community banks are an integral part of Oregon's overall economy through their community giving, dedication as good neighbors, and above all, their critical role in providing reliable financial services to Oregonians. Learn more about Beneficial State’s impact at beneficialstate.org/impact.
About Beneficial State Bank
Beneficial State Bank (Beneficial State) is a state-chartered, federally insured and for-profit bank. Its economic rights are majority-owned by the non-profit, Beneficial State Foundation, which is in turn permanently governed in the public interest. That ownership allows the bank to prove and maintain an innovative model for banking that generates benefit for people and the planet and avoids harm to any while being financially safe and sound. In 2011, Beneficial State acquired ShoreBank Pacific, integrating the pioneering environmentally sustainable bank into Beneficial State’s triple-bottom-line organization. Beneficial State Bancorp completed a stock purchase transaction of 90.1 percent of Albina Community Bank (Albina) in 2013 to provide critical capital for a legendary Portland institution, and in 2017, Beneficial State Bancorp purchased the remaining shares. In June of 2016, Beneficial State acquired Pan American Bank to serve communities in the Central Valley and Los Angeles markets of California. Today, the combination of Beneficial State and Albina has grown to $103.4 billion in assets, 253 colleagues, and 17 locations in California, Oregon, and Washington. Beneficial State is both a Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) as designated by the US Treasury and a Certified B Corporation, with Beneficial State ranking among the world’s top B Corps since becoming a Certified B Corporation in 2012. For additional information, visit http://www.beneficialstate.com. Member FDIC Insured, Equal Housing Lender.
# # #