Amerant Bank’s First Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report Shines Light on Long-Term Corporate Sustainability Initiatives
April 19 2022 - 8:30AM
Amerant Bank, one of the largest community banks headquartered in
Florida and the main subsidiary of Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:
AMTB), released its inaugural 2021 Environmental, Social, and
Governance Report.
Amerant began developing a comprehensive ESG program last year,
with the goal of identifying risks, as well as determining
opportunities to make a positive impact on sustainability both in
the short- and long-term.
“We are pleased to be able to share our new ESG framework and
sustainability report,” said Vice Chairman, President &
CEO of Amerant Bank Jerry Plush. “We conducted extensive
research and considered the perspective of our diverse group of
stakeholders in order to establish priorities and set measurable
goals that make a real impact. At Amerant, ESG will be part of our
DNA.”
The bank’s ESG report was built through surveying and vetting
the perspectives of our employees, customers, market participants
and community members, among others, who helped us look at all
facets of our operation.
Through extensive research, Amerant determined its ESG
framework, composed of key pillars. They include:
- Empowering Our People for Shared Success –
Amerant Bank dedicates its time and resources to benefit its
communities, ensuring it has a talented, diverse and supported
workforce to bring the best service to its customers every day. In
September of 2021, Amerant named a new Chief Diversity &
Inclusion Officer, Kristy Amaro, and later formed a
cross-functional diversity ambassador team.In alignment with
Amerant’s goals of increasing representation of women in leadership
and to foster inclusion for underrepresented groups, it plans to
launch Team Member Resource Groups in 2022 - the first will be a
group dedicated to Women in Finance.Additionally, Amerant is
actively working to hire locally by partnering with government
employment agencies, nonprofit partners, and universities and
strengthen diversity in the hiring pipeline by ensuring diverse
candidate pools and diverse selection teams.
- Promoting Economic Mobility in Our Communities
– Amerant’s commitment to support the underserved communities
within its footprint grows as Amerant grows. The bank expects to
offer over $1B between 2021 and 2025 to these communities in loans.
Recognizing that knowledge is power, Amerant also pays special
attention to opportunities to develop financial literacy among
community members. We believe that investing in healthy financial
habits will encourage more sustainable prosperity.In 2021, Amerant
committed over $490,000 in charitable giving to non-profit
organizations throughout South Florida and the Greater Houston area
to support affordable housing, economic mobility, financial
independence, and health and social services among diverse
populations.Amerant’s Microgrant Programs provided nearly $70,000
in funding to deserving small businesses in 2021, understanding
that small businesses are the foundation of local economies.Earlier
in 2022, Amerant CoverMe was launched, which enables domestic
consumer accounts to overdraft up to $100 without a fee. Shortly
after, the fee for over $100 overdrafts was reduced by more than
half. Amerant seeks to be a community bank leader in this
arena.
- Building Climate Resilience – Amerant
recognizes that true change - addressing the unique impacts of
climate change and environmental degradation, driving sustainable
outcomes and financial gains – begins from the inside out. Its
product teams are researching creative ways to offer
environmentally conscious direct or indirect financing and
investment opportunities. Amerant aspires to offer $1B of
sustainable bank products by 2025, ranging from specially rated
lending for sustainable home improvement to investment partnerships
with sustainable service providers.Last year, Amerant added
electric vehicle charging stations to its headquarters that are
free of charge. Additional car charging stations are planned at
other locations, including the new operations center in Miramar
opening late 2022.Amerant is tackling reduction of fossil fuel
consumption in various ways while also devising a plan to convert
to renewable energy as quickly as possible in all facilities where
feasible. In April of 2022, TXU Energy presented Amerant with a
Leadership in Renewable Energy certificate for the purchase of 100%
Certified Wind Renewable Energy Credits for six Amerant Banking
Centers in Houston.
“Through our ESG framework, we are creating value for our
stakeholders, our communities, and the environment,” added Plush.
“The program ensures a brighter future with its comprehensive
approach to sustainability.”
For the full ESG report, visit: amerantbank.com/ESG.
For more information about Amerant Bank, visit amerantbank.com
and Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn at @AmerantBank.
For investor relations, visit investor.amerantbank.com.
About Amerant BankAmerant Bank, N.A., is one of
the largest community banks headquartered in Florida and main
subsidiary of Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTB), with 17 banking
centers in South Florida and 7 in Houston, TX. The bank has been
serving clients for over 40 years, both domestically and abroad,
and comprises subsidiaries Amerant Investments and Amerant
Mortgage. Rooted in the communities it serves, Amerant Bank
supports numerous non-profit, charitable and arts organizations.
For news and updates, visit the Amerant Newsroom.
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StatementsThis press release contains “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements with
respect to our objectives, expectations and intentions and other
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other factors, which may be beyond our control, and which may cause
the Company’s actual results, performance, achievements, or
financial condition to be materially different from future results,
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should not expect us to update any forward-looking statements,
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statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary notice, together with those risks and
uncertainties described in “Risk factors” in our annual report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021,
and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”), which are available at the SEC’s
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Media Contact:Victoria
VerdejaAmerant BankMediaRelations@amerantbank.com
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