- link Copy Url - [ Share on twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=It’s a Boat! It’s a Plane! It’s a Wells Fargo Banker! https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/232256?absolute=1&via=3blnews "link to 3 B L Media's Twitter") - [ Share on linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/232256?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Linkedin") - [ Share on facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/232256?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Facebook") - [ email Share via email ](mailto:?subject=It’s a Boat! It’s a Plane! It’s a Wells Fargo Banker!&body=ESG News from Wells Fargo & Company https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/232256?absolute=1 "Share via email") [Responsible Business & Employee Engagement](/CSR-News/responsible-business-employee-engagement) # It’s a Boat! It’s a Plane! It’s a Wells Fargo Banker! ##### Wells Fargo's Nili Sundown travels thousands of miles each year — via plane, boat, and even snowmobile — to ensure her customers have the financial resources they need to survive the wilderness of rural Alaska. Nov 30, 2018 8:00 AM ET Campaign: [Wells Fargo Social Impact and Sustainability](/news/campaign/wells-fargo-social-impact-and-sustainability) ![](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/FrontierBanker_InLine_HALF_01_800x450.jpg "Nili Sundown often takes a small, single-engine plane to reach her customers in Southwest Alaska. ") Nili Sundown often takes a small, single-engine plane to reach her customers in Southwest Alaska. [It’s a boat! It’s a plane! It’s a Wells Fargo banker!](https://stories.wf.com/its-a-boat-its-a-plane-its-a-wells-fargo-banker) The summer season in Alaska offers a small window of time for rural communities to restock the supplies they need to survive the long, harsh winter ahead. With the rivers no longer choked with ice and daylight lasting nearly 24 hours, barges bring these remote towns everything from raw building materials to oil for heating homes and fueling vehicles. Watch the video at [Wells Fargo Stories.](https://stories.wf.com/its-a-boat-its-a-plane-its-a-wells-fargo-banker) Wells Fargo business relationship manager Nili Sundown lives in Bethel, Alaska, and knows how important this period of the year is for her customers — and how having their finances in order to purchase these critical supplies can determine how they’ll survive the coming winter. “My customers are tribal and Native Alaskan businesses who live up to 100 miles away from the nearest bank,” said Sundown. “In addition to serving their unique banking needs, Wells Fargo helps finance the fuel purchase for these communities, like Kwethluk Village, which is crucial for the winter months.” To meet with her customers and develop lasting relationships, Sundown travels more than 5,000 miles a year — via small, single-engine plane or boat most often, but also by frozen rivers and snowmobiles when weather conditions dictate — to the 60 villages she serves covering a region of Alaska as large as the entire state of Alabama. Sundown’s undaunted commitment to her customers builds on how Wells Fargo has served American Indian/Alaska Native governments and communities for more than 50 years. The bank currently provides capital and financial services to more than 200 tribal entities in 27 states, including tribal community development projects. In 2017, [Wells Fargo committed $50 million](https://stories.wf.com/wells-fargo-commits-50-million-to-american-indianalaska-native-communities/) over a five-year period to help address the economic, social, and environmental needs of American Indian/Alaska Native communities. “I feel very connected to this land and to the people of rural Alaska,” Sundown shared. “My role is to be the bridge to connect between the traditional world and the modern world.” [![](/sites/default/files/Clients/WF_tile.png)](/profiles/wells-fargo) ### More from Wells Fargo & Company ###### [Prosperity Now Receives $1 Million Wells Fargo Foundation Grant to Support VITA Organizations Nationwide](/news/prosperity-now-receives-1-million-wells-fargo-foundation-grant-support-vita-organizations) Mar 31, 2026 10:00 AM ET ###### [ICA Fund Announces $2.25 Million in New Funding From Wells Fargo To Support Growth-Ready Small Businesses in the Bay Area](/news/ica-fund-announces-over-2-million-new-funding-wells-fargo-support-growth-ready-small-businesses) Mar 25, 2026 4:00 PM ET ###### [Wells Fargo Launches National Challenge to Uncover Innovative Housing Solutions ](/news/wells-fargo-launches-national-challenge-uncover-innovative-housing-solutions) Mar 20, 2026 12:35 PM ET ###### [Idaho FFA Foundation Receives $200,000 From Wells Fargo Supporting Grants for Idaho FFA Members](/news/idaho-ffa-foundation-receives-200000-wells-fargo-supporting-grants-idaho-ffa-members) Mar 3, 2026 10:00 AM ET ###### [City of Charleston Launches Financial Empowerment Center, Offering Financial Counseling As Free Public Service](/news/city-charleston-launches-financial-empowerment-center-offering-financial-counseling-free) Feb 24, 2026 4:00 PM ET ###### [ United Way of Greater Nashville Awarded $300,000 Wells Fargo Grant for Financial Empowerment Center ](/news/united-way-greater-nashville-awarded-300000-wells-fargo-grant-financial-empowerment-center) Jan 27, 2026 5:30 PM ET ###### [Transformational Gift Fuels Expanded Elder Fraud Prevention Across Southern California](/news/transformational-gift-fuels-expanded-elder-fraud-prevention-across-southern-california) Jan 16, 2026 9:00 AM ET ###### [Mountain Mediation Receives $100,000 Wells Fargo Grant to Support Eviction Prevention](/news/mountain-mediation-receives-100000-wells-fargo-grant-support-eviction-prevention) Jan 15, 2026 3:00 PM ET