Small Business Loans

• Eastern Bank won the number 1 SBA award in Massachusetts and New England for 10 consecutive years and is based on the number of loans originated.
• Eastern Bank has helped a "wide range of businesses get the financing they need to grow," particularly those that have difficulty getting funding from traditional sources.
• Eastern Bank extended 565 loans totaling $43.3 million to Massachusetts small businesses, the most of any bank in 2018.

Advocacy

• Eastern Bank has been recognized as one of the "Best Places to Work for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Equality" by the Human Rights Campaign for five consecutive years.
• Eastern Bank testified in support of the Transgender Public Accommodations Bill in front of the Massachusetts House and Senate.
• Eastern Bank testified in support of two bills that would encourage equal pay and the appointment of more women on boards of directors in Massachusetts in front of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development.

Customer Satisfaction

• Eastern Bank is a three-time winner of the J.D. Power "Highest Customer Satisfaction in Retail Banking in the New England Region" award.
• In 2017, Eastern Bank was named as one of the top banks for businesses in the United States for the "Overall Customer Satisfaction" and "Customer Likelihood to Recommend" categories for the Northeast’s Middle Market segment.
• Eastern Bank's mission is to "embrace our mutuality, culture, and creative spirit to build lasting relationships with our customers, colleagues, and communities in pursuit of a better, fairer, more sustainable world."

Small Business Loans

• Small business loans falls under the commercial banking segment of Eastern Bank, according to its latest annual report.
• Jan Miller is currently the vice chairman and chief commercial banking officer of the company.
• Its official website employs the tagline "Business is Good" for small companies to take advantage of the company's fast funding of $100,000 (maximum), and the entire application can be finished in around five minutes.

Advocacy

• Nancy Stager, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation's CEO, spearheads the bank's advocacy, and she has presented the Eastern Bank’s Community Advocacy Award to winners.
• For certain events, the bank encourages people to donate funds towards charities/causes. It employs the tagline #EasternGiveForGood.

Customer Satisfaction

• Maura Hurley acts as the bank's vice president of customer service, and she also serves on the Customer Experience Council. Hurley assists the bank in assuring that clients are provided exceptional customer service. She is featured on official website for her work on customer satisfaction.
• The company's annual report devotes a segment towards clients. In 2018, the company established an industry-leading loan system that helps to enhance customer service, which led to quicker turnaround times.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCING

• KeyBank received the Outstanding Ratings for Lending Award under the Community Reinvestment Act 9 times.

• Within the industry of commercial real estate and multifamily financing, KeyBank was the fourth largest originator in the U.S. as of 2018.
• In 2018, KeyBank initiated a five-year community benefits plan, injecting $16.5 billion into communities across the United States.

LGBT DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

• For their efforts in creating an open and accepting workplace environment, KeyBank won the Human Rights Campaign Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality award 11 times.
• KeyBank received a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index 11 separate times.
• DiversityInc named KeyBank the top regional company in diversity three times.
• In 2016, KeyBank produced and presented a documentary that featured the LGBT Civil Rights Movement over 50 years in Cleavland, Ohio. The documentary focuses on July 4th, 1965, in which protesters at Cleavland city hall demanded an end to LGBT discrimination.

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

• In 2019, KeyBank was recognized by Private Asset Management Magazine as the best private wealth manager client service, over $5 billion category.
• KeyBank won the 2019 Wealth Management Award for Outstanding Achievement In Trust, which recognizes "the best trust and fiduciary initiative, program or platform in wealth management" in the wealth management industry.
• Among asset firms managing more than $1 billion, KeyBank was named the "Most Innovative of 2018" by Fundmap's Institutional Asset Management.
• Fundmap's Institutional Asset Management named KeyBank the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) of the Year as well as the "Fund of the Year" in 2019.

Research Strategy

Summary of Findings

•  Robert Likes is the senior vice president & national manager, community development capital/national affordable housing platform at Key Bank.
• Key Bank uses its website and social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to promote its affordable housing financing activities.
•  Kim Jenkins (Manigault) is the executive vice president & chief diversity & inclusion officer at Key Bank.
• Key Bank uses its website and social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram to promote its commitment to LGBT diversity and inclusion.
•  Joe Calabrese is the national head of investment, fiduciary and banking services at Key Private Bank, the wealth management division of Key Bank.

Entrepreneurial Funding

• Silicon Valley Bank has "successfully supported founders, entrepreneurs, and investors for over 35 years."
• Silicon Valley Bank helps create "the conditions for innovation to thrive by lowering barriers so that current and future entrepreneurs can overcome obstacles, pursue big ideas and make a powerful impact on people’s lives."
• Silicon Valley Bank knows that "connecting to investors and other founders can mean more to [an] idea than any banking app," so it provides a community of 20,000, founders and investors to help make those connections.

Diversity

• Silicon Valley Bank believes that the bank and "the innovation ecosystem benefit from a diversity of opinions and ideas."
• In 2019, Silicon Valley Bank was selected as one of 230 companies for the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for being "trailblazers in their commitment to transparency in the workplace and gender reporting."
• Greg Becker, CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, stated, "we work every day to create and foster a more inclusive environment and celebrate and leverage diversity for better outcomes."

Community Involvement

• Silicon Valley Bank's Community Development Finance team has dedicated almost $270 million in Community Reinvestment Act-qualified investments and over $859 million in loans to fund the construction of 8,389 affordable housing units over the past 20 years.
• In 2013, Silicon Valley Bank celebrated its 30th anniversary by completing over 6,000 volunteer hours in 30 cities in US, UK, India, Israel and China.
• Silicon Valley Bank is a sponsor of Tech Gives Back, "an interactive event created to provide the tech community with an opportunity to work alongside their colleagues and peers to positively contribute to their communities."

Entrepreneurial Funding

•  JP Giannini is a vice president in SVB's Early Stage Practice group.
• SVB uses its appearance on a startup podcast to promote its entrepreneurial funding activities.
• SVB has a mission to help entrepreneurs increase their probability of success.

Inclusion and Diversity

•  Greg Becker is the bank's chief executive officer.
• The bank "has an executive-led Inclusion and Diversity Steering Committee and an employee advocacy network" centered on its inclusion and diversity objectives.
• On its website, SVB uses the tagline: "Innovation Through Inclusion" to refer to its "commitment to inclusion, equal representation and diversity, and the transparency of our progress."

Community Involvement

•  Fiona Hsu is the manager, community development finance at SVB.
• On its website, SVB uses the tagline: "Expanding Affordable Housing to Build Stronger Communities," to communicate its commitment to community involvement by building innovative and affordable homes for disabled adults, seniors, veterans, the chronically homeless, low-income families by working with for-profit and nonprofit groups across Northern California.

Areas of Expertise/key issues for which Synovus claims a leadership position

#1: Excellence in Small Business Banking:

• In 2019 Synovus won 22 Greenwich Excellence Awards for small business banking and Middle Market Banking.
• Their business banking services include treasury management, asset management, capital markets services, institutional trust services, and commercial, financial, and real estate loans. They provide a comprehensive business resource center, as well as a specialty Finance Division and Structured Finance Team.
• Synovus is an SBA Preferred Lender partnering with the U.S. Small Business Administration to ensure their customers have access to the financing they need to achieve their goals.

#2: Support for Women Executives:

• In 2019 Chief Retail Banking Officer Jennifer Upshaw named one of American Banker’s Most Powerful Women in Banking.
• Synovus Board Members Among WomenInc.’s Most Influential Corporate Directors. 
•  Three senior female executives are highlighted in their annual report, and 25% of their executive team are women.

#3: Investment in their Community:

• Synovus demonstrated throughout 2019 that Here Matters in every community in which they operate.
• Synovus team members volunteered nearly 30,000 hours through more than 4,300 Here Matters opportunities in 2018.
• Collectively, they contributed more than $915,000 to United Way.
• The employees provided $127,000 in scholarships to 126 students through the Jack Parker Scholarship Fund.
• The company’s philanthropic giving exceeded approximately $2 million to more than 500 non-profits and agencies doing worthwhile work in their region.

Summary of Findings

•  D. Wayne Akins is the chief community banking officer at Synovus, and his responsibilities include leading the small business banking department.
• Synovus uses its website and social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to promote its small business banking services.
• In November 2018, Michael Durroh was appointed the inclusion and diversity director at Synovus.
• Synovus uses its website and social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to show its support for women executives.
•  Alison W. Dowe is the executive vice president, chief communications and corporate responsibility officer at Synovus, and her responsibilities include leading the community outreach department.