WHEELING, W.Va., June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Paul M. Limbert, President & CEO, WesBanco, Inc. and WesBanco Bank, Inc., Wheeling, WV, is pleased to announce that WesBanco recently received The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 2011 Chairman's Award for Excellence. The award recognizes the work of FDIC-insured financial institutions and their staffs who are instrumental in creating and promoting programs that meet the credit and deposit needs of low- and moderate-income (LMI) consumers. WesBanco was one of only three banks in the country to be recognized for this achievement.

WesBanco and its Community Development Department were honored for the award "Excellence in Affordable Credit for LMI Consumers" for creating the CRA Freedom Series Loan products. Representing WesBanco at the awards dinner hosted by the FDIC in Washington, DC were: Robert H. Young, EVP & CFO, Joseph P. Flynn, SVP, LaReta J. Lowther, VP-CRA Compliance, Lisa M. Werner, AVP-CRA Mortgage Officer and Jayme L. Payton, Community Development Officer.

WesBanco has a longstanding history of making loan funding available to borrowers and of serving the needs of its communities through both economic support and employee outreach. The FDIC award is the culmination of a decade of Freedom Loan related service to the customers and communities served by WesBanco.

In 2001, in an effort to be more responsive to the critical financing needs of low- and moderate-income borrowers within WesBanco's footprint, the bank created a series of loan products collectively known as the WesBanco CRA Freedom Series Loan Products.  There are three products offered in the series: The CRA Freedom Mortgage, the CRA Freedom Modernization Home Improvement Loan, and the CRA Freedom Auto Loan.  

Each product provides flexible underwriting criteria to help lower-income individuals obtain needed credit.  The CRA Freedom Auto Loan is limited to low- and moderate-income persons.  The CRA Freedom Mortgage and the CRA Freedom Modernization Home Improvement Loan products are available to LMI persons and available to persons of higher incomes that reside in LMI census tracts (owner-occupied properties only).  This not only encourages improvement of the housing stock in the LMI areas, but also promotes the integration of mixed-income neighborhoods in LMI areas.

"We honor those who have worked to design bank products that are easy to understand, are cost effective, and help put consumers on the road to financial security," said FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair. "These individuals demonstrate a strong commitment to serving low- and moderate-income consumers creatively and effectively."

In a letter to FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair thanking her for the award, Mr. Limbert said: "At WesBanco we take our commitment to meeting the banking and credit needs of our communities and its LMI customers very seriously. This is what community banks do for their customers. "

Completing the activities surrounding the award presentation, WesBanco participated in a panel discussion about its innovative products and programs and lessons learned in implementing them at the June 2 Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion meeting. WesBanco's accomplishments serve as positive examples of how to meet the credit and deposit needs of low- and moderate-income consumers. Please visit the following Web site http://www.fdic.gov/about/comein/lmiaward.html to view additional information about the products and programs in which the award winners have been involved.

Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 7,575 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations.

FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov, by subscription electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html) and may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200). PR-96-2011

WesBanco is a multi-state bank holding company with total assets of approximately $5.4 billion, operating through 112 branch locations and 134 ATMs in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. WesBanco's banking subsidiary is WesBanco Bank, Inc., headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. WesBanco also operates an insurance brokerage company, WesBanco Insurance Services, Inc., and a full service broker/dealer, WesBanco Securities, Inc.

SOURCE WesBanco, Inc.