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Members of the group gave more than $599 million to charitable causes, committed five million employee hours to community service projects and made $293 billion in community development investments and loans, according to the third annual canvas of member companies.

"The survey results underscore the commitment of financial services companies to their communities," said L.M. Baker Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Wachovia and chairman of The Financial Services Roundtable. "These companies and their employees continue to dedicate substantial resources to make meaningful contributions.

"Wachovia and its employees, for example, can be found assisting an affordable housing group in Florida to obtain federal funds necessary to be self-sustaining, helping to build the first affordable energy-efficient community in Metro Atlanta, tutoring kindergarten students in reading and math in Winston-Salem, N.C., contributing to an early childhood educational development program in South Carolina, and providing funding to allow Virginia elementary school students to tour a celebrated art exhibit. These are but a few of the projects of just one member institution. The public good that is achieved by the combined works of our members is exceptional."

The Roundtable survey asked members to report on their charitable donations, volunteer activities and leadership, community investment and lending, and outreach to the underserved members of their communities. (Fifty-five Roundtable member companies responded to the survey.) During 1999, the survey found:

• Roundtable members gave more than $599 million in direct gifts to charitable organizations in 1999. (This was an increase from the 1998 report, which calculated $420 million in charitable giving by 57 Roundtable companies that responded to the survey.)
• Members sponsored or supported almost five million hours of volunteer work in 1999, the equivalent of 2,500 full-time employees nationwide.
• Roundtable members made community development investments and loans of more than $293 billion. The total represented $2.14 billion in investment and more than $291 billion in loans.
• More than two-thirds of the members provided homeownership counseling. Almost 60 percent provided credit counseling and small business advice to low- and moderate-income borrowers and new entrepreneurs.

"The financial services industry is among the most involved and charitable business sectors," said Roundtable President Steve Bartlett. "This extraordinary level of community involvement requires not only the dedication of employees, but also commitment and encouragement from senior management. Financial services workers at all levels are mentoring children, expanding the reach of the arts and building Habitat for Humanity homes with their own hands."

The Financial Services Roundtable represents 100 of the largest integrated financial services companies, which provide banking, insurance, and investment products and services to the American consumer. Member companies participate through their chief executive officer and other senior executives nominated by the CEO. The Roundtable represents members on questions of public policy affecting member companies, their employees and their customers before legislators and regulators.

For a copy of the complete report, go to www.fsround.org. Additional information on Wachovia’s community involvement can be found at www.wachovia.com/community.

Wachovia Corporation, with dual headquarters in Atlanta and Winston-Salem, N.C., is a leading financial holding company serving regional, national and international markets. As of Sept. 30, 2000, Wachovia had assets of $72 billion. Member companies offer consumer and commercial banking, bank card, asset and wealth management, community development finance, capital markets and investment banking, brokerage and insurance services. Wachovia Bank, N.A., the principal subsidiary, has nearly 700 offices and 1,400 ATMs in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

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