First Financial Bank (Nasdaq: FFBC) has entered into a new $2.4 billion, five-year Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and related partner organizations to Loan and investment goals were set. -Income (LMI) customers and census tracts.
This new agreement follows the successful closing of First Financial's previous CBA, during which the company achieved 192 percent of its 2018-2023 financing and investment goal of $1.75 billion. did.
“Our new Community Benefits Agreement is a bold statement of how First Financial intends to continue our mission of improving lives and helping communities thrive,” said First Financial. said Archie Brown, President and CEO. “These are the neighborhoods where we live and work, and we play a leading role in helping our neighbors achieve their goals and improve their economic well-being.”
“First Financial has surpassed the goals we set together in our previous CBA and is committed to delivering new and innovative services to low- and moderate-income communities,” said Jesse Van Tol, president and CEO of NCRC. We agreed to continue this strategic cooperation by negotiating initiatives.” “These new initiatives will directly improve the material conditions of resource-poor areas within the bank's footprint. All banks should take note of this and ensure that First Financial addresses these issues. We should adopt the same collaborative approach that we continue to take.”
First Financial's goals under the new CBA are:
- $700 million through access to products that provide greater access to LMI communities and borrowers, intentional efforts in rural communities, community development mortgage officer efforts, and small mortgage and home improvement loan offerings. provides home loan financing.
- $600 million in small business financing through support for small business development corporations, business incubators, and issuance of microloans.
- $1.075 billion in community development financing and investments in projects that create affordable housing, community services, revitalization and stabilization, and permanent jobs that benefit LMI neighborhoods.
- $18 million in philanthropy. Donations are targeted to organizations that create and maintain affordable housing, provide workforce development, provide housing counseling, and promote financial and economic inclusion.
- Establishing three new financial centers in LMI communities and investing $9 million in branch distribution and access.
- By 2028, increase minimum procurable vendor spending of 25 percent to minority-owned businesses (MBEs), women-owned businesses (WBEs), disability-owned businesses (DBEs), and veteran-owned businesses I promise to do that.
- $1.2 million for marketing and communications to benefit LMI and Majority-Minority Census Tract (MMCT) clients and communities.
“We have a lot to accomplish under this new agreement, and we have already begun early work on many of these areas,” said Rodell McCullough, chief corporate officer at First Financial. “Our previous CBA was incredibly successful and changed the lives of thousands of people for the better, and we look forward to helping even more individuals, families and businesses over the next five years. I am excited.”
First Financial's recent commitment to our communities was further demonstrated in 2021 when we received an “outstanding” rating from the Federal Reserve Board for performance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This rating is the highest available and was determined after an extensive evaluation of First Financial's lending, investments and service levels from 2017 to 2020. This review specifically focused on First Financial's initiatives that benefited customers who met income guidelines or resided in LMI census tracts.
