BANK LOOSENS UP TO HELP OUT KIDS.

Byline: Sonia Giordani / Daily News Staff Writer

As they wrap up the week's business, most companies give their employees the chance to hang up their suits and ties for a casual dress day - free of charge.

But at Los Robles Bank, where employees only recently began sporting cotton polos and casual slacks on Fridays, the opportunity comes with a price tag.

Helping to build up the bank's new scholarship fund to benefit area high school graduates, workers can loosen up at the office for $1 each week.

The bank matches the weekly contributions from its 60 employees and hopes to raise enough by the spring to give at least four $1,000 scholarships to graduates next year, said Lorraine Kuntz, administrative assistant at Los Robles Bank.

``There is a real need out there for helping students who want to get ahead in school but can't afford the cost,'' Kuntz said. ``We thought this would be a great way to benefit the community and to give our employees a boost.''

The scholarship fund is the first set up by Los Robles Bank, a 10-year-old community bank based in Thousand Oaks with two additional branches in Westlake Village and Camarillo.

Kuntz added that employees had been hoping for a casual dress day for years.

``Every now and then, we'll dress up like for Halloween or for Christmas. But there are bank policies that require that we keep a professional dress code,'' she said.

All that changed Aug. 1, however, when the bank's employees started sporting the bank's official golf-style polo shirt, cream-colored with a forest green collar trim.

Kuntz said the shirt can be worn with casual slacks or jeans - no holes, of course.

``We have to keep a professional image for our customers,'' she said.