Citizens Bank and City of Buffalo announce $8.5 million neighborhood investment program
Three-year initiative supports affordable housing and economic developmentBuffalo, N.Y. (May 9, 2007) - In collaboration with the City of Buffalo and various neighborhood organizations, Citizens Bank announced today a comprehensive initiative to spur economic growth and neighborhood revitalization. Under the Citizens Bank Neighborhood Investment Program for Buffalo, Citizens Bank is committing $8.5 million in loans and grants over three years to encourage affordable housing, home improvement, economic development, financial literacy, and neighborhood stabilization and revitalization.
Joined by Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown and numerous community leaders, Robert M. Curley, New York President of Citizens Bank, N.A., announced the new partnership at a news conference today in Buffalo. The Buffalo initiative is the latest in a series of neighborhood investment programs Citizens Bank has developed for communities in Upstate New York. To demonstrate the impact of the partnership, the news conference took place at a house located at 17 Lilac Street that is being rehabbed by HomeFront, Inc., a community development agency that has been working to promote healthy neighborhoods in Buffalo and Erie County since 1975.
“I want to thank Mayor Brown and his administration for helping us to craft an integrated and multi-dimensional program that will have a significant impact on the city,” said Curley. “Citizens Bank is committed to making our communities economically viable. We are proud to serve as a catalyst to bring about positive change in our neighborhoods and to join Mayor Brown in his plans for Buffalo’s continuing revitalization,” said Curley.
"Citizens Bank's $8.5 million commitment will enhance my administration’s efforts to improve our neighborhoods and our commercial districts,” said Mayor Byron Brown. "On behalf of my administration, the businesses and residents of this city, we want to thank Citizens for sharing in our vision and supporting the revitalization of Buffalo. This financial commitment will help strengthen existing programs and help start new initiatives. I look forward to working with President Curley and Citizens Bank on this exciting program.”
Under the new partnership, Citizens Bank will provide $5.95 million for economic development and small business lending and $2.2 million for affordable housing and home improvement programs. The lending allocation, developed in consultation with the City of Buffalo, is as follows:
Small Business Loan Fund - $1.050 million will be available for the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation to establish a new loan pool for small businesses and micro enterprises that typically have difficulty in obtaining financing. BERC is the certified development financial institution that serves as the lending agency for the City of Buffalo.
Small Business Loans - $4.9 million in small business and SBA loans for businesses located in the city of Buffalo and surrounding metropolitan area.
Hamlin Park Adopt a Neighborhood – $1 million in residential mortgages for homebuyers in the Hamlin Park section of the city, one of the neighborhoods the city has identified for stabilization and investment in order to maintain it as a middle-income residential area.
Foreclosure Homeownership Program - $1 million in residential mortgages and home equity loans for new homeowners participating in the City of Buffalo’s pilot program to reduce vacancy rates among abandoned and foreclosed properties. The City will use HomeFront, Inc., to identify qualifying new homeowners who will apply for Citizens Bank financing to purchase, rehab and repair the properties.
Citizens Bank EZ Home Improvement Loan - $200,000 in low-interest financing for home improvement projects for homeowners living in low- to moderate-income census tracts or who meet the HUD median family income guidelines. Qualifying homeowners have the ability to borrow $1,000 to $3,000 at a rate of 1% APR for as long as 84 months or 6.5% APR for loans of $3,001 up to $10,000, also for a term of up to 84 months.
“We worked in collaboration to develop this initiative and throughout the process Citizens Bank was open to our ideas, suggestions and recommendations,” said Timothy E. Wanamaker, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning, and President of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation. “Citizens Bank’s commitment in dollars is impressive, but we have been equally impressed by the way Citizens has engaged its lending team and had them involved in the planning of the program. It is collaborations like this that will help strengthen the City for the future.”
In addition to the lending allocations, the Citizens Bank Neighborhood Investment Program also includes $350,000 in grants made from the Citizens Bank Foundation in partnership with a series of community projects developed and executed by HomeFront, Inc., Buffalo Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation and the University at Buffalo. The grants will be used to support clean-and-green activities, public safety initiatives, neighborhood planning, financial literacy, home improvement, commercial corridor development and legal assistance for first-time homebuyers.
“The funding from Citizens will increase our ability through the Neighborhoods of Choice program to assist clients with the down payment and closing costs associated with the purchase of a home,” said Bryan M. Cacciotti, Executive Director of HomeFront, Inc. “We anticipate being able to assist as many as 21 families and helping them to realize their dream of owning a home.”
Including today’s announcement in Buffalo, Citizens Bank has created economic development and affordable housing initiatives in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester, representing an investment of more than $41 million.
About Citizens Bank, N.A
Citizens Bank, N.A. has $17 billion in assets, and more than 230 branches and 280 ATMs throughout upstate New York and Vermont. It has more than 210 branches and more than 250 ATMs in New York. Citizens Bank, N.A. is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $161 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. Citizens has more than 1,600 branches, approximately 3,100 ATMs and more than 25,000 employees. It has a 13-state retail branch network plus non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. Citizens is the eighth-largest commercial banking company in the United States ranked by deposits and ninth in assets as of September 30, 2006. Citizens is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).
|