Report Follows Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines

BOSTON, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wainwright Bank & Trust Company (Nasdaq: WAIN), a leading socially progressive bank, released its Sustainability Report 2008 following Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 Guidelines, the world's most widely-used sustainability reporting guidance.

The report highlights Wainwright Bank's commitment to economic, environmental and social responsibility. It focuses on key areas such as business strategy, financial performance, governance, products and services, customers, employees, communities, shareholders, philanthropy and the environment. Specific topics include community development lending initiatives; unique products such as CommunityRoom.net, The Green Loan(TM) and the Equal Exchange CD; employee satisfaction; client profiles; CRA performance and public recognition.

"This report is intended to be more than a catalogue of our past efforts and accomplishments; it creates a baseline from which we can establish future goals and initiatives," said Jan A. Miller, President and CEO of Wainwright Bank. "From this point forth we intend to release a sustainability report periodically."

"Given the recent turmoil in the financial services sector, we believe that transparency and robust disclosure is a core stakeholder expectation not just from large companies, but rather from every company in every sector," said Veena Ramani from Ceres. "Wainwright Bank's first comprehensive sustainability report is an example of leadership in the community banking sphere, and we hope that this will motivate other smaller banks to follow suit." Wainwright worked with Ceres to obtain multi-stakeholder feedback on its performance and disclosure, which was used in shaping the Sustainability Report. Ceres is also the birthplace of the Global Reporting Initiative.

More than 1,000 organizations worldwide issued and registered sustainability reports with GRI in 2008, an increase of 46 percent of registered reporters in 2007. Over 80% of Fortune 250 companies now report. In the U.S., Wainwright Bank is among 5 financial services organizations, including Citigroup and State Street Corporation, that have filed their reports on the GRI website in 2009.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Boston, Wainwright Bank is a leading socially progressive bank with assets of over $1 billion and 12 branches throughout Greater Boston. Over 50% of the bank's commercial lending portfolio is dedicated to community development initiatives including affordable housing, homeless shelters, HIV/AIDS services, community health centers, and environmental issues to name a few. Wainwright's commitment to social justice has been widely recognized including being named one of the Top 20 Sustainable Stocks in the world by SustainableBusiness.com and one of the Top 10 Best "Green" Banking Firms by the Social Investment Forum.

    Steven F. Young                    Telephone    (617) 478-4000
    Senior Vice President              Fax          (617) 439-4854
    Wainwright Bank & Trust Company    E-mail       syoung@wainwrightbank.com
    (NASDAQ symbol "WAIN")             Website      www.wainwrightbank.com

SOURCE Wainwright Bank & Trust Company

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