David Reiling
Chairman and CEO Sunrise Banks,
Mid-America U.S.
David Reiling has a simple but powerful life philosophy: “You can do well by doing good.”
He lives that philosophy every day as the Chairman and CEO of Sunrise Banks where his mission is to empower the underserved to achieve and where he and his employees believe their success relies on the success of the communities they serve.
It’s working.
Since 1995, Sunrise has grown its assets and social and environmental impact tenfold. With USD2.4 billion in assets, the bank has consistently increased profits and established a reputation for itself as a “social engine for good,” impacting tens of thousands of low- to middle-income people in the urban core of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
To execute his mission, Reiling takes a two-fold approach: As a community development bank, his team serves the urban core of the Twin Cities. As a people-focused financial institution, Sunrise partners with financial technology firms to provide better access to convenient and fairly priced financial services globally.
Reiling teaches his employees to put “people before profit.” As such, Sunrise, a certified B corporation, serves the un- and underbanked with financially inclusive products to help them attain financial wellness and create better lives for themselves.
In 2022, Sunrise:
Helped originate 15,121 TrueConnect loans (responsibly structured loan alternatives to payday loans) for a total of USD29 million.
Initiated 236,684 self-credit builder loans (USD174.3 million) for people with no or poor credit.
Worked with nonprofits like Prepare and Prosper to help low-income consumers establish bank accounts.
In addition to leading his “compassionate” company, Reiling chairs the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, an independent network of banks using finance to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development, and is a board member of Northstar Education Foundation and Co-chair of the McKnight Foundation’s GroundBreak Coalition. In 2023, he was recognized by Big Path Capital as a Top 100 Impact CEO.
Sunrise’s vision to be “the most innovative bank empowering the underserved to achieve” and Reiling’s drive to “do good” is creating a legacy and path for all banks to follow.