First Citizens Receives Grant to Aid Flood Rebuilding

October 3, 2000

RALEIGH, N.C. - First Citizens Bank has secured a $550,000 federal grant that will fund a non-profit agency's development efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Floyd flooding.

First Citizens applied for the funding through the U.S. Department of Treasury's Bank Enterprise Award Program and earmarked it for the Center for Self Help, a Durham-based non-profit organization that provides community development financing initiatives for homebuyers, small businesses and non-profits.

The $550,000 grant will leverage First Citizens' commitment to provide $5 million of a $100 million loan fund Self Help is building to provide home mortgages in eastern North Carolina communities affected by flooding after Hurricane Floyd. Self Help expects the program to put more than 1,700 families into their own homes.

"Homeownership is an important factor in the overall strength of any community and is particularly important in areas devastated by flooding," said Jim Mebane, First Citizens Bank senior vice president and corporate officer for Community Reinvestment Act compliance. "First Citizens is pleased to be working with the Department of Treasury and with Self Help to give people the opportunity to get back on their feet and start rebuilding their communities."

The Bank Enterprise Award Program is administered by the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to encourage banks and other depository institutions to increase their support for CDFIs like Self Help. The CDFI Fund promotes development by increasing communities' access to credit and investment capital.

In all, the BEA Program will provide $7.4 million to be distributed to CDFIs through North Carolina financial institutions.

First Citizens Bank has 366 branches in more than 200 communities in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Headquartered in Raleigh, the bank has $9.98 billion in assets. First Citizens is committed to providing superior financial services to individual customers and small to mid-sized businesses. For more information on the bank, visit its web site at firstcitizens.com.

For more information, contact:
Barbara Thompson
(919) 716-2716
First Citizens Bank