Ron Grzywinski
Encyclopedia
Ron Grzywinski is a community development banker from Chicago
, and one of four founders of ShoreBank
. In May 2010 he retired as chair of ShoreBank Corporation and took the position of Advisor to the Board of Directors of ShoreBank Corporation.
community area on the city's south side. His banking career began at the First National Bank of Lockport
, and he moved to the Hyde Park Bank in 1967. http://www.hydepark.org/reporter/winter05.pdf
In 1973, Ron and three colleagues (Milton Davis, James Fletcher, and Mary Houghton) purchased the South Shore Bank (eventually re-naming it ShoreBank) in Chicago's South Shore
neighborhood to fight redlining
. It was America's first community development bank
, and it has grown into what is, by most accounts, the most successful community development and microfinance
institution in the country. The bank's successful combination of a social mission with profitability finds it frequently cited as "doing well while doing good."http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/673.html
which required banks and thrifts meet the credit needs of the communities in which they did business, including low- and middle-income residents. Thanks in part to Ron’s testimony, it was enacted by congress later that year.
In the 1980s Ron worked in Bangladesh
with Muhammad Yunus
through a grant from the Ford Foundation
to help design and incorporate the Grameen Bank
.http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=22455&rel=1
In 1985, he worked closely with then Arkansas
Governor Bill Clinton
to set up the Southern Development Bancorporation, a community development bank serving rural Arkansans.http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/071593-speech-by-president-on-community-development.htm
In 1997, Ron helped to launch ShoreBank Pacific, the nation’s first commercial bank formed to support environmentally sustainable development.http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/pastevents/shorebank/shorebank.htm
Under Ron's stewardship ShoreBank grew into a $1.9 billion bank, helped finance the purchase and renovation of 49,000 affordable housing residences, and issued nearly $900 million in loans to citizens in Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland between 2001 and 2006.http://www.whatsyourmotto.com/Articles/shorebank.aspx
and BRAC
in Bangladesh, XacBank
in Mongolia
, the Aga Khan Foundation in Pakistan
, and the Ashoka Global Academy in India
.
He is a charter member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
's Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion.http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06100a.html
Ron serves on the board of judges for Social Accountability International's Corporate Conscience Awards.http://www.environmentawards.net/details.asp?cid=262
.http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06100a.html
In 2001, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Northern Michigan University
.http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06100a.html
In 2005, Ron received the John W. Gardner
Leadership Award from the Independent Sector
recognizing a career that has “transformed underserved neighborhoods into vibrant communities and inspired a community development banking movement worldwide.”http://www.independentsector.org/media/20050607_gardner.html Ron was the first person from a for-profit business to win this award.
In 2006, Ron (along with ShoreBank co-founder Mary Houghton) received the Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award at Harvard University
for work transforming “under-served urban
neighborhoods across the country into vibrant communities.”http://www.gleitsman.org/
In the same year, he accepted the 2006 Ethics Award from Western Illinois University
.
Also in 2006, he accepted an invitation to address the Skoll World Forum at Oxford University.http://skollworldforum.blogspot.com/2006_03_31_skollworldforum_archive.html
In October 2007, he was named to the Affordable Housing Finance Hall of Fame.http://www.housingfinance.com/ahf/articles/2007/oct/BANKER1007.htm
In November 2007, he was named to the list "America's Top Leaders 2007" by U.S. News & World Report.http://www.usnews.com/features/news/special-reports/best-leaders.html?s_cid=related-links:TOP
In 2008, he received the Hesburgh Award for Ethics in Business from the University of Notre Dame
.http://newsinfo.nd.edu/content.cfm?topicid=27488
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and one of four founders of ShoreBank
ShoreBank
ShoreBank was a community development bank founded and headquartered in Chicago. At the time of its closing it was the oldest and largest such institution, and in 2008 had $2.6 billion in assets. It was owned by ShoreBank Corporation, a regulated bank holding company.ShoreBank had branches in...
. In May 2010 he retired as chair of ShoreBank Corporation and took the position of Advisor to the Board of Directors of ShoreBank Corporation.
Early life and career
Ron Grzywinski was born in 1936 in Chicago's South ChicagoSouth Chicago, Chicago
South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 well-defined community areas of Chicago, Illinois.This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtown...
community area on the city's south side. His banking career began at the First National Bank of Lockport
Lockport
- Places :In Canada:* Lockport, Manitoba* Lockeport, Nova ScotiaIn the United States of America:* Lockport, Illinois* Lockport, Indiana* Lockport, Kentucky in Henry County, Kentucky* Lockport, Louisiana* Lockport , New York...
, and he moved to the Hyde Park Bank in 1967. http://www.hydepark.org/reporter/winter05.pdf
In 1973, Ron and three colleagues (Milton Davis, James Fletcher, and Mary Houghton) purchased the South Shore Bank (eventually re-naming it ShoreBank) in Chicago's South Shore
South Shore
South Shore may refer to:In Canada:*South Shore , Quebec, the region of the greater Montreal area on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River*South Shore , geographic region of Nova Scotia*South Shore—St...
neighborhood to fight redlining
Redlining
Redlining is the practice of denying, or increasing the cost of services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs, access to health care, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined, areas. The term "redlining" was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a...
. It was America's first community development bank
Community development bank
- Community Development Banking in the United States :In the United States, community development banks are commercial banks that operate with a mission to generate economic development in low- to moderate-income geographical areas and serve residents of these communities...
, and it has grown into what is, by most accounts, the most successful community development and microfinance
Microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
institution in the country. The bank's successful combination of a social mission with profitability finds it frequently cited as "doing well while doing good."http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/673.html
Work with ShoreBank
In 1977, Ron was the only banker to testify in favor of the Community Reinvestment ActCommunity Reinvestment Act
The Community Reinvestment Act is a United States federal law designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods...
which required banks and thrifts meet the credit needs of the communities in which they did business, including low- and middle-income residents. Thanks in part to Ron’s testimony, it was enacted by congress later that year.
In the 1980s Ron worked in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
with Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize...
through a grant from the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
to help design and incorporate the Grameen Bank
Grameen Bank
The Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community development bank started in Bangladesh that makes small loans to the impoverished without requiring collateral...
.http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=22455&rel=1
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
Governor Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to set up the Southern Development Bancorporation, a community development bank serving rural Arkansans.http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/071593-speech-by-president-on-community-development.htm
In 1997, Ron helped to launch ShoreBank Pacific, the nation’s first commercial bank formed to support environmentally sustainable development.http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/pastevents/shorebank/shorebank.htm
Under Ron's stewardship ShoreBank grew into a $1.9 billion bank, helped finance the purchase and renovation of 49,000 affordable housing residences, and issued nearly $900 million in loans to citizens in Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland between 2001 and 2006.http://www.whatsyourmotto.com/Articles/shorebank.aspx
Boards and Committees
In addition to ShoreBank, Ron works with the boards of the Southern Development Bancorporation in Arkansas, the Grameen BankGrameen Bank
The Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community development bank started in Bangladesh that makes small loans to the impoverished without requiring collateral...
and BRAC
BRAC (NGO)
BRAC, based in Bangladesh, is the world's largest non-governmental development organization. Established by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in 1972 soon after the independence of Bangladesh, BRAC is present in all 64 districts of Bangladesh, with over 7 million microfinance group members, 37,500 non-formal...
in Bangladesh, XacBank
XacBank
XacBank is a microfinance institution and community development bank in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, formed in December 2001.- Background and Main Challenges :...
in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, the Aga Khan Foundation in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and the Ashoka Global Academy in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
He is a charter member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
's Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion.http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06100a.html
Ron serves on the board of judges for Social Accountability International's Corporate Conscience Awards.http://www.environmentawards.net/details.asp?cid=262
Awards and honors
In 1988, Ron received the Medal for Entrepreneurial Excellence from the Yale School of ManagementYale School of Management
The Yale School of Management is the graduate business school of Yale University and is located on Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The School offers Master of Business Administration and Ph.D. degree programs. As of January 2011, 454 students were enrolled in its MBA...
.http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06100a.html
In 2001, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest...
.http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06100a.html
In 2005, Ron received the John W. Gardner
John W. Gardner
John William Gardner, was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon Johnson. During World War II he served in the United States Marine Corps as a captain. In 1955 he became president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and, concurrently, the Carnegie Foundation for...
Leadership Award from the Independent Sector
Independent Sector
Independent Sector is a coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporate giving programs. Founded in 1980, it is the first organization to combine the grant seekers and grantees....
recognizing a career that has “transformed underserved neighborhoods into vibrant communities and inspired a community development banking movement worldwide.”http://www.independentsector.org/media/20050607_gardner.html Ron was the first person from a for-profit business to win this award.
In 2006, Ron (along with ShoreBank co-founder Mary Houghton) received the Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
for work transforming “under-served urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
neighborhoods across the country into vibrant communities.”http://www.gleitsman.org/
In the same year, he accepted the 2006 Ethics Award from Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became...
.
Also in 2006, he accepted an invitation to address the Skoll World Forum at Oxford University.http://skollworldforum.blogspot.com/2006_03_31_skollworldforum_archive.html
In October 2007, he was named to the Affordable Housing Finance Hall of Fame.http://www.housingfinance.com/ahf/articles/2007/oct/BANKER1007.htm
In November 2007, he was named to the list "America's Top Leaders 2007" by U.S. News & World Report.http://www.usnews.com/features/news/special-reports/best-leaders.html?s_cid=related-links:TOP
In 2008, he received the Hesburgh Award for Ethics in Business from the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
.http://newsinfo.nd.edu/content.cfm?topicid=27488