After a long career as a commercial banker in St. Louis, more than a decade ago Alex Fennoy joined Midwest BankCentre. He helped transform the community bank into one that has won awards—including a 2019 ABA Foundation Community Commitment Award—for its responsiveness to local needs. This year, he was a co-winner of the George Bailey Distinguished Service Award, ABA’s highest individual honor.

On the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Fennoy shares his own career story and discusses how he and Midwest BankCentre have:

• Pioneered partnerships with local nonprofits and faith-based organizations to expand access to financial services in unbanked areas of the St. Louis region, including co-locating a Midwest BankCentre branch in a historically Black church.
• Developed a suite of provident small-dollar financial products called “Life Happens” focused on the life needs of low-income families.

Additional resources:

• Read a Q&A with Fennoy on financial inclusion.
• Read more about the 2020 ABA Community Commitment Award winners.
• Listen to an ABA Banking Journal Podcast episode with Midwest BankCentre Chairman and CEO Orvin Kimbrough.