First Republic Expands Community Lending Program And Team

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) today announced the appointment of two additional community lending officers serving the credit needs of traditionally underserved borrowers and communities.

Charlene Van Horn, an attorney who has managed First Republic's Compliance Monitoring Function and previously worked for the San Francisco Federal Reserve, was named Fair and Responsible Banking Officer. Additionally, Michele Cazeau, who has 15 years of banking experience, was named Community Outreach Relationship Manager in Boston.

Van Horn and Cazeau are part of a growing team of community lending officers focused on community outreach in the bank's urban, coastal markets. First Republic is in the process of hiring additional community lending officers and expanding its community lending program.

"Charlene, Michele and our growing team of community lending officers support our long-standing commitment to providing credit to individuals and businesses in underserved communities," said Ed Dobranski, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of First Republic.  "The expansion of our community lending team and the successful launch of our new Eagle Community Home Loan program and other initiatives are part of our strategic objective to further serve minority and low- to moderate-income borrowers and communities."

First Republic launched Eagle Community Home Loan in December 2015 to further increase the diversity of its lending portfolio.  The program offers highly competitive interest rates to home borrowers for the purchase or re-finance of a primary residence and includes up to $7,000 of closing costs and offers a wide range of personalized banking services.

Through June 30, 2016, First Republic has funded almost 200 Eagle Community loans and has a significant volume of such loans in its pipeline.  All Eagle Community loans were originated in majority African American and/or Hispanic Census Tracts. Nearly 50% of these community loans were made to minority borrowers. The median average Eagle Community loan amount is currently $358,000.

In addition to Eagle Community, First Republic continues to make substantial investments to low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities through a variety of other programs as it has for many years. In the first half of 2016, 15.1% of all single-family lending went to LMI borrowers, a level well above the most recently available aggregate of 11.8% lent by other banks in First Republic's markets.

The bank originated more than 1,400 low- to moderate-income community development loans from 2011 to mid-2016 totaling $3.1 billion. Additionally, the bank committed approximately $1.3 billion to low-income housing tax credit investments to help finance the development of 77,000 affordable, low-income rental units.

About First Republic Bank Founded in 1985, First Republic and its subsidiaries offer private banking, private business banking and private wealth management, including investment, trust and brokerage services. First Republic specializes in delivering exceptional, relationship-based service, with a solid commitment to responsiveness and action. Services are offered through preferred banking or wealth management offices primarily in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Newport Beach and San Diego, California; Portland, Oregon; Boston, Massachusetts; Palm Beach, Florida; and Greenwich and New York, New York. First Republic offers a complete line of banking products for individuals and businesses, including deposit services, as well as residential, commercial and personal loans. For more information, visit www.firstrepublic.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130906/MM75721LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-republic-expands-community-lending-program-and-team-300313230.html

SOURCE First Republic Bank