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Media Center | Press Releases « 2003 Press Releases »
2003 Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lynn Robb, (412) 288-2851, lynn.robb@fhlb-pgh.com
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
HONORED AT FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK OF PITTSBURGH'S ELEVENTH
ANNUAL PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY AWARDS
PITTSBURGH, PA, June 2, 2003 The Federal
Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh's Pillars of the Community
awards honor financial institutions for outstanding
work in creating housing for lower-income families and
promoting community revitalization and economic development
throughout Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
At the first of four regional conferences held in June,
the FHLBank of Pittsburgh honored WesBanco Bank, Inc.
of Wheeling, West Virginia. WesBanco Bank is the only
financial institution in the West Virginia/Western Pennsylvania
region to receive a Pillars award this year.
"Financial institutions honored as Pillars of
the Community are models of partnership, innovation
and resourcefulness in helping to make local communities
better in the most important ways: safe affordable homes,
job creation and preservation, neighborhood development,"
said James D. Roy, president and chief executive officer
of the FHLBank of Pittsburgh. "WesBanco has put
our program dollars to work in ways that will benefit
West Virginia communities for years to come, and it's
our privilege to honor them today."
The FHLBank also presented a special Affordable Housing
Advisory Council's Award to Donald C. Meyers, division
vice president, senior regional executive, of Northwest
Savings Bank in Erie, Pennsylvania. This special award
is presented to individuals for outstanding long-term
commitment and career leadership in promoting and creating
affordable housing and community development.
Pillars winner WesBanco Bank has served the communities
and neighborhoods of the Wheeling region for more than
130 years. WesBanco has sponsored a number of projects
that have taken advantage of FHLBank Affordable Housing
Program (AHP) funds. These projects included eleven
affordable for-sale homes built in Fairmont and
47 apartments for low-income families in Wheeling. WesBanco
distributed more than half a million dollars in AHP
grants in 2002.
Additionally, WesBanco used the FHLBank's Banking On
Business (BOB) program to enable financing of ten small
businesses throughout the service area. One loan helped
an orthodontist purchase a practice. Another enabled
the acquisition and renovation of a day care center.
Yet another was used to expand an auto body repair business.
Nearly $700,000 in BOB funds leveraged $3 million more
in commercial loans for hardworking small-business owners.
Deeply committed to volunteerism, WesBanco employees
performed thousands of hours of community service last
year. Through the Partners In Education program, employees
meet with more than 1,000 children each year to teach
them money management skills. WesBanco employees also
work to bring homeownership classes to first-time homebuyers
through the Community Homebuyer Investment Program.
Pillars of the Community award recipients are selected
from all financial institution members of the FHLBank
of Pittsburgh that have used the FHLBank's community
investment products in the previous calendar year. Winners
are selected by an FHLBank committee, and are approved
by the Affordable Housing Committee of the FHLBank's
Board of Directors.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, with assets
of more than
$50 billion, serves nearly 350 financial institution
members in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia
and is part of the Federal Home Loan Bank System. It
is one of twelve FHLBanks, all private cooperatively
owned banks that provide wholesale housing finance,
community lending and correspondent banking services
to member banks, savings institutions, credit unions
and insurance companies.
For information about the Federal Home Loan Bank
of Pittsburgh, visit www.fhlb-pgh.com.
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