Metropolitan National Bank

For Metropolitan National Bank, “Nearby & Neighborly” is more than just a slogan, and it applies to more than loans and checking accounts. Metropolitan’s Corporate Giving Committee, made up of six senior managers and corporate directors, distributes hundreds of thousands of
dollars each year.

Metropolitan was also the largest bank in Arkansas to receive an “outstanding” rating from its most recent Community Reinvestment Act examination by federal bank regulators.

The philanthropic spirit doesn’t stop with cash and checks, and it doesn’t end with bankers’ hours.

In 2007, Metropolitan employees gave more than 18,000 hours in volunteer community service. The final tally of volunteer hours for 2008 isn’t finished, but it will include two days of work by 16 employees on the Habitat for Humanity Banker’s House in September. More than 100 Metropolitan employees prepared, set up and served breakfast to hundreds of breast cancer survivors at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Little Rock.

“We are honored to be recognized for our philanthropic efforts,” said CEO Lunsford Bridges. “We are committed to actively serving the community, not only by offering outstanding customer service, but also by giving back as much as possible to benefit the communities that our bank serves.”
All of Metropolitan’s contributions are made to Arkansas charities or Arkansas chapters of national charities — more than 200 of them during the past two years. Some are one-time gifts, but Metropolitan also has made long-term commitments to a number of worthy causes, including the
Little Rock Zoo, St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center, Arkansas Commitment scholarship program, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the Quapaw Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

These efforts were recognized when Metropolitan received the Large Corporate Humanitarian Award at the 2008 Community Service Awards.