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Optus Bank receives national award

Staff Report //September 25, 2019//

Optus Bank receives national award

Staff Report //September 25, 2019//

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Columbia-headquartered Optus Bank is one of 113 banks nationwide to receive a financial award from the Community Development Financial Institution’s Bank Enterprise Award program.

The program provides awards to FDIC-insured depository institutions which have increased investments in economically distressed communities. During the past three years, award recipients have increased loans and investments in such communities by $1.4 billion, according to the program’s website.

Optus received a $245,547 award from the U.S. Treasury Department CDFI fund.

“This award is a significant recognition of the hard work and commitment of our team to ensure that no person is turned away, regardless where they are on the journey to earn their American Dream,” Dominik Mjartan, Optus Bank president and CEO, said in a news release.

The BEA program defines distressed communities as those where at least 30% of residents have incomes that are less than the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is at least 1.5 times the national unemployment rate.

“The BEA award will fuel our growth and help ensure that more people and places have access to high-quality banking services,” Mjartan said. “Our increasing size, profitability and customer base demonstrates that going the extra mile to help all people build wealth is not just the right thing to do, it can also drive value to all stakeholders.”

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