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Babette Heimbuch Selected By U.S. Banker Magazine as One of Top 25 Women in Banking to Watch
Babette Heimbuch Selected By U.S. Banker Magazine as One of Top 25 Women in Banking to Watch
Published 10-08-03
Submitted by FirstFed Financial Corp.
Sign Up!America's Community Bankers, the national trade association for community banks, nominated Heimbuch. The magazine received 4,700 nominations nationally.
Since Heimbuch joined First Federal in Santa Monica 21 years ago as chief financial officer, the bank's assets have grown nearly 17-fold. And since she took the helm in 1997, the bank has enjoyed record earnings.
"Babette has led First Federal to stellar financial performance, and her bank is well known as a leader in serving the affordable housing needs of her community -- the hallmark of community banking," said ACB President and CEO Diane Casey-Landry. "We are proud to have Babette and First Federal as a member of ACB."
Under Heimbuch's leadership, First Federal received the Santa Monica Area Sustainable Quality Award for social responsibility, and was honored for its consistent commitment to volunteering, significant achievements in economic development and social responsibility. It has been ranked as one of the 100 best corporate citizens for the past three years by the Business Ethics Corporate Social Responsibility Report. Heimbuch reacted to the selection by saying, "I am honored to have my name included with this distinguished group of women bankers."
As a banker, Heimbuch has been an active industry leader at the state and national levels. She provided the community banking perspective as a member of the Federal Reserve's Thrift Institutions Advisory Council. She was actively involved in promoting the industry's government affairs agenda at the national level as a director of America's Community Bankers and at the state level as chair of the Western League of Savings Institutions. She also represented shareholders as a director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco for seven years.
She chairs the Board of Advisers of Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and serves on the Financial Oversight Committee of the Santa Monica School District. In 1990, Heimbuch was named the Santa Monica YWCA's Woman of the Year.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, First Federal Bank of California has 29 retail banking offices, 3 loan offices, and 1 business development office throughout Southern California.
