ShoreBank Pacific Spawns Salmon Nation Credit Card

ShoreBank Pacific, a bank that can be truly called an environmental bank, has launched its first consumer credit card, the Salmon Nation Visa.

One of only a handful of socially responsible credit cards in the country, the Visa will support the restoration of NorthWest watersheds and thus, the endangered salmon fisheries.

Salmon Nation is an initiative of Ecotrust (Portland, OR), a non-profit that is raising awareness of issues and behavioral choices that contribute to the health of regional watersheds and the economies of the people that live in them. Activities already underway include campaigns to encourage people to purchase wild salmon and buy locally produced foods. ShoreBank will contribute 50 percent of the income it generates from the card to Ecotrust’s efforts.

The bank offers a variety of consumer EcoDeposit products, money from which supports loans to businesses and non-profits committed to their communities and to reducing their environmental footprint. Consumer products include certificates of deposit (CDs), money market and savings accounts, and IRAs. Also available are Partnership CDs, which allow consumers to donate their interest to the participating non-profits.

ShoreBank Pacific is an FDIC-insured bank leading the financial world in sustainable banking. Founded in 1997 as a joint venture between ShoreBank Corp., Chicago, and Ecotrust, ShoreBank Pacific invests in people and businesses in the Pacific Northwest to create strong companies, a healthy environment and vibrant communities. It is headquartered in Ilwaco, Wash., with additional lending offices in Portland, Ore., and Olympia, Wash.

Ecotrust is a non-profit organization with a mission to build the bioregion called Salmon Nation, from Alaska to California. Salmon Nation is a place defined by watersheds, not political boundaries, and valued for abundance, interconnectedness, authenticity and sense of place as well as an understanding that extraordinary economies that support the social fabric of a region can be built within an ecological framework. Based in Portland, Oregon, with offices in Coos Bay, San Francisco, Anchorage and Juneau, Ecotrust has five program areas: Forestry, Fisheries, Food & Farms, Native Programs, and Citizenship.

You can apply for the card at horeBank Pacific’s offices in Portland, OR., and Olympia and Ilwaco, WA., or download a form from its Web site: www.shorebankpacific.com