Bank of the West 2007 Annual Report Download - page 18

Banking on
Communities
We help to make the community
a better place to live
With more than 700 business locations and more than
six million square feet of office and branch space to
heat, cool and light, Bank of the West initiated an
energy-savings program to substantially reduce lighting
and HVAC usage and costs. By setting more stringent
maintenance standards bank wide, the bank expects to
reduce overall energy costs by 10% in 2008. A lighting
retrofit program now underway should break even
within three years and reduce lighting energy costs by
9% thereafter.
Launching a new consumer protection initiative in 2007,
the bank conducted community seminars concerning
financial abuse of the elderly, an increasingly common
target of fraud. The programs included presentations by
experts and law enforcement authorities in Fairfield, San
Jose and Fresno, California; the bank plans similar events
in Salt Lake City and other communities in 2008.
In the Midwest, Bank of the West convened its fourth
annual Neighborhood Summit for community leaders
and elected officials from Omaha, Des Moines,
Minneapolis and Kansas City.
Through a $75 billion multi-year community support
plan, Bank of the West in 2007 made $9.23 billion
in loans, investments, gifts and service contracts for
targeted lower-income and minority beneficiaries.
Cumulatively, the bank’s progress toward its goal now
stands at $43.44 billion. Lending categories include
commercial loans, consumer and mortgage loans,
community development, church and SBA loans, as well
as small farm credit and micro-loans.
Within the bank, $50,000 was allocated for the Inroads
minority-focused internship program, providing summer
internship employment for promising college students
and contributing to workplace diversity. In Denver, the
bank joined for a second year in 2007 with the Mayor’s
Office of Strategic Partnerships to recruit adult mentors
for a Youth Mentoring Collaborative, serving 85,000
children living in low-income, single-parent homes.
Children’s Hospital in Denver received a $25,000 contri-
bution towards its child car seat education program.
In the Northwest, Bank of the West contributed $20,000
to the Downtown Kennewick, Washington, Partnership
to support the area’s economic development. The bank
provided a $10,000 grant to The Chalkboard Project
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