Wainwright Bank's Double Bottom Line

By Margaret Benefiel
Executive Soul Newsletter

June 2007

In a banking world known for its focus on the single bottom line of profitability, Boston's Wainwright Bank is known for its double bottom line, focusing on both people and profits.

Wainwright Bank's mission statement reads, in part:

With a sense of inclusion and diversity that extends from the mailroom to the boardroom, Wainwright Bank and Trust Company resolves to be a leading socially responsible bank. The Bank is equally committed to all its stakeholders — employees, customers, communities and shareholders.

What does this mean in the day-to-day operation of the bank? How does Wainwright Bank walk its talk?

First, Wainwright Bank walks its talk in terms of products. The bank provides loans to underserved groups, including loans for affordable housing, homeless shelters, food banks, environmental protection, health centers, HIV/AIDS services, and immigration services. Along with other socially responsible CDs, Wainwright Bank offers customers the option to invest in Equal Exchange CDs, which support coffee farmers in developing countries. In addition, CommunityRoom.net, a website-hosting service provided to all non-profits holding Wainwright Bank accounts, generates nearly $1 million in donations to the non-profits annually.

Linda Cornell, president/CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association of Eastern Massachusetts, testifies to what Wainwright Bank meant to her organization: "Wainwright Bank has been the epitome of the community bank — very socially responsible. We were a little community organization with a big dream, and they believed in us. They financed the dream and made it happen."

Second, Wainwright Bank walks its talk within the company. Wainwright Bank hires inclusively, not discriminating with regard to race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Sixty percent of Wainwright Bank's employees, and nearly 50 percent of the bank's officers, are women. Over 30 percent of the bank's employees are minorities, and 22 languages are spoken. The bank was one of the earliest to provide domestic partner benefits, leading the way in the banking industry.

Third, Wainwright Bank pays attention to its stakeholders. Naysayers assumed that Wainwright Bank would suffer financially for its idealism, claiming that loans for homeless shelters and food banks are risky business. In fact, the opposite is true: Wainwright Bank"s $600 million in community development loans has experienced zero losses over the 20 years of the bank's life, in sharp contrast to other banks' loans. Furthermore, Wainwright Bank has grown steadily over the past 20 years. In 2006, for example, loans increased 9 percent over 2005, and net interest income was $27.6 million, up from $26.9 million in 2005. Now boasting 11 branches in the Boston area, Wainwright Bank is among the 700 largest of the 8,000 banks in the United States.

Wainwright Bank has demonstrated, against the common wisdom of the banking industry, that social conscience and profitability can mutually support one another.

Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., is CEO and Founder of ExecutiveSoul.com.

^ back to top ^