Mosaic Ambassador Company Midwest BankCentre wins recognition for Bosnian and African American Neighborhood Support
Midwest BankCentre is one of eight banks nationally recognized by the American Bankers Association for its work in Bosnian and black neighborhoods
The ABA Community Commitment Awards, to be presented Oct. 29 during the American Bankers Association convention in Seattle, are given in seven categories to honor innovative, high-impact bank programs and projects that produce lasting result.
Specifically, Midwest BankCentre was cited for providing banking services and jobs in St. Louis' Bosnian and black neighborhoods. It hired 17 Bosnian war refugees, for example, supported the Lemay Child and Family Center, and funded Fontbonne University’s Bosnia Memory Project. The bank has partnered with the city of Pagedale, Beyond Housing and Friendly Temple Church to open branches. It also has invested heavily in the Hispanic, Bosnian and black chambers of commerce.
Orv Kimbrough, president and CEO of Midwest BankCentre, has made it clear that loans and other investments in poor neighborhood are not charity but part of a concerted business strategy. “It’s not social justice, it’s business. Capital, far more so than philanthropy, helps people achieve their dreams,” he previously told the Business Journal. “Diversity and inclusion are not a tactic, they’re a business strategy.”
The other ABA Foundation winners are:
- FNBO, Omaha, Nebraska, and Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco, co-winners for affordable housing.
- Devon Bank, Chicago, for economic inclusion.
- Union Savings Bank, Cincinnati, for financial education.
- IncredibleBank, Wausau, Wisconsin, for protecting older Americans.
- Citi, New York, for supporting military families.
- First Financial Northwest Bank, Renton, Washington, for volunteerism.