Santander Bank Earns “Outstanding” Community Reinvestment Act Rating by the OCC
Santander Announced New,
“Achieving an Outstanding assessment for the second-consecutive exam period is a testament to Santander’s unwavering commitment to make a positive impact in the communities where we live and work,” said
The full performance evaluation is available here. In its report, the OCC called out several areas where Santander excelled:
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Flexibility to borrowers and customers at the onset of the COVID-19 and through the evaluation period, including the origination of more than 20,000 loans totaling over
$1.8 billion through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program to support small businesses across the Bank’s footprint impacted by the pandemic. - Excellent responsiveness to community credit needs, including continuing to be a leader in community development lending for the purpose of maintaining, creating, or preserving affordable housing – a critical need within the communities where the Bank operates.
- Significant community investments and grants, including through the Santander US Cultivate Small Business program, which helps early-stage entrepreneurs build and sustain businesses in the food industry, with a focus on supporting woman-, immigrant-, and BIPOC-owned businesses in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods.
- Ensuring products and services are readily accessible to geographies and individuals of different income levels and offer customers a safe, affordable and useful banking offering to access and manage their money. This includes Santander® Safety Net, the Bank’s industry-leading flexible overdraft policy, the introduction of Santander® Essential Checking and continued enhancements to Simply Right® Checking and Santander® Savings accounts.
Santander US announced in 2023 its latest Community Plan, a three-year,
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$1.5 billion in small business lending -
$3 billion in community development lending and investments, with more than$2.5 billion in affordable housing -
$9 billion in sustainable finance investment, with a focus on renewable energy - 100% increase in direct supplier diversity spending
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$100 million in charitable giving to nonprofit organizations - 100,000 employee volunteer hours in underserved communities
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240916451654/en/
Victoria.day@santander.us
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