With a sense of inclusion and diversity that extends from the boardroom to the mailroom, Wainwright Bank & Trust Company resolves to be a leading socially progressive bank. The Bank is equally committed to all its stakeholders -- employees, customers, communities and shareholders.
In the one-dimensional corporate world where shareholder concerns have always reigned supreme, Wainwright Bank prefers the concept of stakeholders. In our model of inclusion, employees, customers and communities have an equal place at the table alongside of stockholders. We believe each of these constituencies is best served when all are served.
With an active commercial lending operation and products such as Debit Cards and Telebanking, Wainwright Bank (www.wainwrightbank.com) outwardly resembles most other banking institutions both large and small. However, the resemblance to other banks becomes blurred as we are now increasingly seen as part of the vanguard of the social investment movement. The Bank's social justice agenda has become a unifying theme that embraces our mission statement, literature, and products while providing a unique identity to a publicly traded corporation.
As the bank has expanded we have consciously created an environment
that provides all our employees freedom to be themselves;
the benefits to the organization and to the community have
been immense. For example, some years ago the introduction
of domestic partner benefits at our bank was perhaps less
significant than the cultural leverage it provided to the
entire banking industry.
The twenty-two languages spoken at Wainwright Bank are
a source of pride and reflect the diversity of the communities
we serve. Indeed there are some among us who while speaking
only English, hear the strong cadences of social justice
that resonate from other cultures.
The Bank's progressive agenda includes a commitment to affordable housing, community development, women's rights and the gay and lesbian community. While these initiatives have been honored by awards and recognition they have also brought to the Bank a committed, indeed passionate, customer constituency.
Our recent acquisition of a 30% equity interest in Trillium Asset Management provides an affiliation specializing in socially responsible investing. A unique dimension is its use of shareholder activism. Whether in support of diversity in the corporate workplace or in coalitions with trade union movements to oppose sweatshops in Haiti and Indonesia, Trillium Asset Management has repeatedly taken courageous positions on economic justice issues.
The Bank has attempted to use both its cultural and financial capital to further a vision of a just, tolerant and sustainable society. Over the years we have seen the same voices of intolerance arrayed against the civil rights movement, the women's movement, gay rights and the civil liberties of people with AIDS. For us, the rights of these groups are all connected threads that weave the fabric of a just society. Indeed none of us journeys alone.
Robert Glassman
Co-Chairman
