Mountain West Bank invests $1 million in SNAP to support financial education, business services

Mountain West Bank recently invested $1 million in SNAP to support businesses, homeowners and financial education in the region.

A division of Montana-based Glacier Bancorp., Mountain West made what’s called an “equity-equivalent” investment in SNAP Financial Access, which offers classes, workshops and loan programs for low-income households and businesses from its office at 500 S. Stone St. in the East Central Community Center.

“SNAP advocates on behalf of some of the most vulnerable people in the region,” Scott Anderson, CEO of Mountain West Bank, said in a statement. “Mountain West Bank’s investment will help provide both information and capital to those who might not otherwise have access to these services.”

Mountain West Bank made its first equity-equivalent investment in SNAP in August 2018.

SNAP has used business assistance funds in the past to support downtown’s Cochinito Taqueria, the Honest in Ivory bridal shop on East Trent Avenue and Cedar Coffee on North Monroe Street. It also saved 159 homes from forclosure in 2017 with money available from SNAP Financial Access.