Beneficial State Bank Honored as Best for the World, Creating Positive Impact for Workers, Environment, Community

OAKLAND, Ca, Sept. 12, 2017 --

Today, Beneficial State Bank (Beneficial State) was recognized for creating extraordinary positive impact as a business based on an independent, comprehensive assessment administered by the nonprofit B Lab. Beneficial State was also recognized for 2017 Best for Community, 2017 Best for Customers, and on the newly created 2017 Best for the World: Changemakers list. Jointly-owned, Albina Community Bank, was also recognized for being a 2017 Best for Customers honoree.

Beneficial State was honored in the Best for the World Overall list, which includes businesses that earned scores in the top 10 percent of more than 2,100 Certified B Corporations across all categories on the B Impact Assessment. To certify as B Corporations, companies like Beneficial State Bank must complete the full assessment and have their answers verified by B Lab.

The full B Impact Assessment evaluates a company’s environmental performance, employee relationships, diversity, involvement in the local community, the impact a company’s product or service has on those it serves, and more. Honorees scoring in the top 10 percent of all B Corporations set a gold standard for companies using business as a force for good. Beneficial State Bank made the list thanks to exceptional practices like their unique ownership model in which one hundred percent of the economic rights belong to a foundation permanently governed in the public interest., ensuring at least 75 percent of loan dollars are in the hands of the new economy, and committing to radical transparency.

The 176 Best for the World Overall honoree companies come from 75 different industries and 25 countries. “Companies like Beneficial State Bank exemplify what it means for a business to be a good citizen,” says Jay Coen Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab. “We’re proud to recognize their achievement. Best for the World is the only list of businesses making the greatest positive impact that uses comprehensive, comparable, third-party-validated data about a company’s social and environmental performance.”   

A total of 846 Certified B Corporations were named 2017 Best for the World Honorees, including: Patagonia; Seventh Generation; National Co+op Grocers; and Business Development Bank of Canada. Forty-eight countries are represented, including Afghanistan, Kenya, Nicaragua, and Turkey. The selection criteria for Best for the World honorees are available at http://bit.ly/29ZYRSp. 

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About the Beneficial State Bank Family

Beneficial State Bank is a state-chartered, deposit-taking, federally insured, for-profit banking organization headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Founded as a social enterprise bank in 2007, Beneficial State Bank has grown organically and through aligned acquisition to serve the three West Coast states. Beneficial State Bank holds to a triple bottom-line of social justice, environmental well-being and economic sustainability. One hundred percent of the economic interest of Beneficial State Bank is entirely owned by the nonprofit Beneficial State Foundation that is permanently governed in the public interest. This ownership has allowed the bank to prove and maintain an innovative model for banking that generates prosperity for people and the planet, avoids extractive practices, all while being financially safe and sound.  

Beneficial State Bank entered the Portland marketplace in 2010 with the acquisition of ShoreBank Pacific, a pioneer of environmentally sustainable banking serving both Washington and Oregon. In 2013 Beneficial State Bancorp completed a stock purchase transaction of 90 percent of Albina Community Bank to provide critical capital for a legendary Portland institution. In June of 2016, Beneficial State Bank acquired Pan American Bank to serve communities in the Central Valley and Los Angeles markets of California. Today the combination of Beneficial State Bank and Albina Community Bank have $856 million in assets, 225 colleagues, and 17 locations in California, Oregon and Washington. Albina Community Bank and Beneficial State Bank are both certified B Corporations, with Beneficial State Bank ranking among the world’s top B Corps since becoming a certified B Corporation in 2012. FDIC Insured, Equal Housing Lender.

For additional information, visit http://www.beneficialstate.com.

B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good.  Its vision is that one day all companies will compete not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world and society will enjoy prosperity for all for the long term. 

B Lab drives this systemic change by: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and good marketing; 2) passing benefit corporation legislation to give business leaders the freedom to create value for society as well as shareholders; 3) helping businesses measure, compare and improve their social and environmental performance with the free B Impact Assessment; 4) driving capital to impact investments through use of its B Analytics and GIIRS Ratings platform.

For more information, visit http://www.bcorporation.net.

B the Change is a Medium publication, produced by B Lab in collaboration with the community of Certified B Corps and the movement of people using business as a force for good.

B the Change exists to inform and inspire people who have a passion for using business as a force for good in the world. Because we believe that storytelling is an essential element in the transformation of business and society, we commit ourselves to telling the most compelling stories possible to the largest audiences possible to propel the movement of business toward its destiny as a powerful force for good. We want to dramatically broaden and deepen engagement with entrepreneurs, managers, employees, investors, and citizens in one of the most important discussions of our time.

Read all B the Change stories at http://www.bthechange.com.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d405c5cd-7df2-49f0-a0c0-858bf741964f

Andrea Walker
Beneficial State Bank
5108461119
[email protected]