Bank of the West 2006 Annual Report Download - page 18

“Hopi Credit made it possible for Sichomovi village to create several
staff jobs and space for a convenience store – a simple but much-
needed rarity on this reservation, which is 65 miles from the nearest
commercial town. Bank of the West made our loan possible for Hopi
Credit, and we’re thankful that the bank was able to focus on this
special remote community.”
Banking on
C O M M U N I T I E S
Through an investment this year of
$750,000 to subsidize home and small
business loans for Hopi tribe members
in northeastern Arizona, Bank of the
West made it possible for Hopis to buy
necessities from a convenience store
on the remote reservation instead of
driving 65 miles to Winslow. This
investment in Hopi Credit Association,
the primary housing lender on the
reservation, enabled the village of
Sichomovi to borrow and relocate its
administrative offices to a newly
financed building, freeing up space in
their previous building for the store.
The $750,000, which triples an earlier
commitment and will let Hopi Credit
finance approximately 40 homes or
small business ventures, fulfills a
small fragment of Bank of the West’s
multi-year goal to lend, invest and
contribute $75 billion for lower-income
individuals, businesses and
organizations in lower-income and
underserved communities throughout
the bank’s 19-state service footprint.
In the fifth year of the current
community support plan, which will
take the bank through 2015, Bank of
the West made $8.1 billion in loans,
investments, gifts and service con-
tracts for targeted lower-income and
minority beneficiaries. Cumulatively,
the bank’s progress toward the $75
billion goal now stands at $34.2
billion. Lending categories include
commercial loans, consumer and
mortgage loans, community develop-
ment, church and SBA loans, as well
as small farm credit and micro-loans.
One micro-lending partner with which
Bank of the West has worked for many
years is Lenders for Community
Development, a San Jose, California-
based nonprofit that makes small
business start-up loans for low-income
entrepreneurs in the heart of Silicon
Valley—Santa Clara and San Mateo
counties. The bank has provided $3.3
million in funding for LCD since its
inception, and Bank of the West
executives also serve on LCD’s loan
committee and board of directors.
Power Community Development
Corporation uses a Bank of the West
line of credit to redevelop the inner
city and stabilize neighborhoods in
the low/moderate census tracts of
Wichita, Kansas. Since 2000, Power
CDC has built and sold 55 houses in
previously blighted areas. With Bank
of the West credit, Power CDC has
also built the area’s only grocery
store, Save-A-Lot, which employs 25
local residents. Bank of the West also
donated $10,000 to the CDC.
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-Beth Cascadden (left) and Annette Fredericks, Sichomovi, AZ