Washington, DC – Today, in an agreement reached with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and its community-based members and allies across the Midwest and Southeast, Fifth Third Bank announced an increase to their landmark community benefits agreement to $30 billion. The commitment covers community development, including lending and investments, between 2016 and 2020.
Fifth Third’s Community Development Plan includes mortgage and small business lending, including micro-lending, community development lending and investing, philanthropy, and financial services for low- and moderate-income communities. A summary of the plan can be found here.
“This substantive and detailed community development plan was the result of a collaborative process with community members and bank leaders,” said NCRC President & CEO John Taylor. “We applaud President & CEO Greg Carmichael and the senior leadership of Fifth Third, who after putting out a significant community commitment earlier in the year, were willing and eager to deeply engage NCRC and its member organizations in significant discussions to ensure the commitments made were in areas of the greatest community need and put in place rigorous accountability for their bank and the communities they serve.”
“Fifth Third is deeply committed to both investing significant resources into the community as well as engaging community members and leaders,” said Fifth Third Bancorp President and CEO Greg D. Carmichael. “Our objective is to ensure that, together with the NCRC, we meaningfully impact the communities in the 10 states where Fifth Third operates. We appreciate and value the collaboration with John Taylor and all the NCRC member organizations who met with us to enable us to expand our original commitment in ways that will best improve lives in our communities.”
“Fifth Third and NCRC’s investment in Ohio will create opportunities for businesses and families to seek the resources they need to make their communities stronger,” said U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. “I applaud these organizations for working with people across the state, and I’m glad their investment will provide meaningful help to Ohioans.”
The commitment covers locations in 10 states where Fifth Third has branches (Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky) and was reached following meetings with NCRC and 145 community-based organizations.
The Community Development Plan will:
- Fund $11 billion in mortgage lending to LMI individuals and communities.
- Fund $10 billion in small business lending in all markets and communities to businesses with gross annual revenue below $1 million.
- Fund $9 billion in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) community development loans and investments. This includes support for affordable housing, revolving loan funds, Community Development Corporations, Community Development Financial Institutions, community pre-development resources, housing rehab loan pools, and community land trusts and land banks.
- Fund $93 million in philanthropy.Work to ensure adequate access to bank branches in LMI communities and communities of color, including opening at least 10 new branches.
“As a member of the Dayton community, I am pleased to see that Fifth Third has made a commitment to ensuring financial services to low- to moderate-income communities and individuals as well as small businesses,” said Catherine Crosby, Executive Director of the City of Dayton Human Relations Council. “Small businesses are the primary employers in Dayton, which makes it critical to ensure that resources are available not only for financial stability, but also to build capacity through technical assistance. We look forward to continuing our partnership to fulfill mutual goals for economical sustainability in diverse low- to moderate-income communities in Dayton.”
“NHS of Greater Cleveland welcomes the opportunity to continue our partnership with Fifth Third Bank to implement this broad-reaching plan that will positively affect the residents and the communities we serve in northeast Ohio,” said Lou Tisler, Executive Director of Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland.
“The Ohio Urban Resources System (O.U.R.S.) is a statewide network comprised of nine Community Action Agencies,” said Yvonne C. Freeman, Project Manager of O.U.R.S. “We are proud to have taken part in shaping the Fifth Third Community Benefits Plan, as it will bring a renewed focus on financially distressed communities in Ohio’s urban centers. We look forward to working with Fifth Third to implement new strategies to support low- to moderate-income families.”
“ESOP applauds Fifth Third for their ambitious commitment, not only to reinvest in the communities across their footprint, but for also committing to partner with communities at a grassroots level to positively effect change together,” said Michael Billnitzer, Associate Director of ESOP.
“Breaking Chains Inc., a HUD-Approved Housing Agency, recognizes that accountability plays a major role in community development,” said Jackie Huggins Jones, Executive Director of Breaking Chains Inc. “The strategy and commitment that have been agreed upon is workable and should address the lack of investment in the low- to moderate-income communities and communities of color.”
“We applaud Fifth Third Bank for its responsiveness to NCRC and the many community development organizations it represents,” said Timothy L. Tramble Sr., Executive Director of Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc. “The commitments of $11 billion for mortgage lending, $10 billion in small business lending, and $9 billion for community development lending will undoubtedly be a huge resource for failed neighborhood economies within its footprint.”
“I am delighted that Fifth Third approached NCRC and its Illinois members to jointly create a strong CRA plan based on community needs and input,” said Dory Rand, President of Woodstock Institute. “I look forward to working with them to implement the plan and reap the benefits of increased and improved lending, investments, branches, and services in underserved low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in Illinois and across the country.”
“Fifth Third has several branches in Northwest Indiana and organizations here are excited to see increased support for our programs that benefit low- and moderate-income borrowers,” said Jean Ishmon, Consulting Executive Director of Northwest Indiana Reinvestment Alliance. “I am encouraged by the upcoming partnership and have met with some of the new staff. Organizations are hopeful that the bank will become more actively involved in our quest to serve the residents of the Gary Metropolitan Statistical Area.”
“I am glad to see that Fifth Third is willing to work with communities to provide equal access to mortgages and other banking products at a competitive rate,” said Sister Barbara Busch, Executive Director of Working In Neighborhoods. “I am looking forward to seeing changes in Fifth Third’s products and programs to achieve equity for low- and moderate-income and minority communities.”
“Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Greater Cincinnati (HOME) is encouraged by the potential towards economic justice this agreement represents, particularly as a way to expand housing choice for working families,” said Jeniece Jones, Executive Director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Greater Cincinnati.
“What will make the NCRC Community Benefits Plan real in the lives of Hamilton County residents, businesses and nonprofits, is when an actual increase in access to capital takes place, when this plan goes into effect,” said Morris Williams, Convener of Hamilton County Community Reinvestment Group, (HCCRG), and NCRC Board Member Emeritus. “Our communities will see and feel an improvement in the lives of many citizens and communities.”
“This agreement is vital for the future communities in the Tampa Bay region – for community development investing, home mortgage lending and capacity building for nonprofit partners of the bank,” said Deborah Scanlan, CEO of Neighborhood Home Solutions.
“We look forward to working with Fifth Third to promote and create equal opportunities of inclusion for our residents through housing, employment, education and community development,” said Sarah Combs, CEO of University Area CDC.
NCRC members and community organizations in the locations in 10 states where Fifth Third has branches that signed on to the five-year Community Development Plan are:
Ohio
Central Ohio Fair Housing Association, Inc.
City of Cleveland-Department of Community Development
City of South Euclid, Ohio
Cleveland Realtist Association
Community Matters
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce
Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization
ESOP
Fair Housing Resource Center, Inc.
Famicos Foundation
Greater Dayton Premier Management
Greater Linden Development Corporation
HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton
Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Greater Cincinnati
IMPACT Community Action
Nazareth Housing Dev. Corp.
Ohio SBDC at The Entrepreneurs Center
Pathway Inc.
Toledo Fair Housing Center
Wesley Community Center Dayton
Housing Research & Advocacy Center
ABLE
Another Chance of Ohio
Baptist Minister’s Conference of Cincinnati and Vicinity
Birmingham Development Corp.
Breaking Chains Inc.
Buckeye Shaker Square CDC
Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc.
Cincinnati NAACP
Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency
City of Dayton Human Relations Council
City of Euclid, Ohio
CityWide Development Corporation
Collective Empowerment Group of Cincinnati
Community Action Agency
Community Legal Aid Services, Inc.
Community United for Action
County Corp
Cudell Improvement, Inc.
Friends of the African Union Chamber of Commerce
GCMI
Hamilton County Community Reinvestment Group
Home Repair Resource Center
Homes on the Hill CDC
Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, LLC
Lucas County Land Bank
Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation
Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, Inc.
Miami Valley Urban League
Montgomery County, OH
Mt. Pleasant NOW Development Corporation
Mustard Seed Development Center
Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium
Ohio CDC Association
Ohio Fair Lending Coalition
Ohio Urban Resources System
One Voice for East Toledo
Price Hill Will
Salem UMC
Slavic Village Development
Small Business Development Center at Wright State University
The Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati
The Omega Community Development Corporation
UMADAOP
United North Corporation
Village Capital Corporation
Working In Neighborhoods
Antioch Baptist Church
Charisma Community Connection
Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative
Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland
LINKS Community and Family Services
Florida
Affordable Homeownership Foundation Inc.
Collective Empowerment Group Tampa Bay Area (CEGTBA)
Community Reinvestment Alliance of South Florida
Housing and Education Alliance
Housing Foundation of America
Pinellas Opportunity Council, Inc.
St. Petersburg Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. d/b/a Neighborhood Home Solutions
Tampa Bay Black Business Investment Corporation
University Area Community Development Corp, Inc.
Bright Community Trust, Inc.
Central Florida Urban League
Clearwater Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc.
Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida
Florida Home Partnership, Inc.
Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida
Neighborhood Lending Partners of Florida, Inc.
Pinellas County Urban League
REVA Development Corporation
The Lion Foundation
Georgia
Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Inc.
Georgia Micro Enterprise Network
National Housing Counseling Agency
Peoplestown Revitalization Corporation
Southwest Georgia United
Illinois
Chicago Community Loan Fund
Chicago Rehab Network
Community Service Council of Northern Will County
Housing Action Illinois
Institute of Cultural Affairs – USANWSHCOPRHC/West Cook Homeownership Center
Partners In Community Building, Inc. (PICB)
Rock Island Economic Growth
The Resurrection Project
Universal Housing Solutions CDC
Vision of Restoration, Inc.
Woodstock Institute
Genesis Housing Development Corporation
The Chicago Urban League
Indiana
Aurora
CAPEECHO Housing Corporation
HomesteadCS
Indiana Association for Community Economic Development
HOPE of Evansville
Memorial Community Development Corp.
Northwest Indiana Reinvestment Alliance
Kentucky
Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund
REBOUND, Inc.
River City Housing
The Housing Partnership, Inc.
Comprehensive Valuation Services LLC
Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville
Metropolitan Housing Coalition
Michigan
Financial Justice Coalition of SE Michigan
Michigan Community Reinvestment Coalition
Neighborhood Service Organization (NSO)
Bridging Communities, Inc.
Southwest Economic Solutions
U SNAP BAC Non Profit Housing Corporation
North Carolina
Can I Live, CDC
Henderson and Company
NC Community Development Initiative/Initiative Capital
North Carolina Housing CoalitionProsperity Unlimited, Inc.
F7Action NC
Community Link
Reinvestment Partners
New Frontier CDC
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group
Tennessee
New Level Community Development Corp
Good Neighbor Foundation
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About NCRC:
NCRC and its grassroots member organizations create opportunities for people to build wealth. We work with community leaders, policymakers and financial institutions to champion fairness in banking, housing and business development.
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Summary of the Community Action Plan between the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Fifth Third Bank.
Under the updated Community Action Plan, Fifth Third will lend or invest $30 billion to low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers and in LMI communities over a five-year period from 2016 to 2020. Thirty billion dollars is 21% of Fifth Third’s assets, or 29% of its deposits.
Mortgage Lending
Community Benefits Commitment: $11 billion over 5 years
Fifth Third Bank is increasing its loan commitment by $1 billion to LMI borrowers and LMI neighborhoods. The increase in lending is for both home purchase and refinance lending. Fifth Third also committed to a goal of distributing the increased lending proportionately across its markets within the bank’s footprint.
Commercial Lending
Community Benefits Commitment: $10 billion over 5 years
Fifth Third will lend $10 billion in commercial loans in LMI census tracts, with at least $2.5 billion for businesses with annual revenues below $1 million. In specific markets in which Fifth Third’s level of lending to small businesses with annual revenues below $1 million has underperformed compared to peer institutions, Fifth Third will achieve or exceed peer performance by 2018. Fifth Third will also introduce a small business line of credit, with credit card access at market rates, in the first quarter of 2017.
Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI)
Community Benefits Commitment: $9 billion over 5 years
Fifth Third Bank increased its CDLI goal by $1.5 billion, from $7.5 billion to $9 billion. The bank will evaluate expanding CDLI activities to include affordable housing, pre-development loans, non-tax-credit-related projects to assist with access to affordable housing, and support for economic development projects that support job creation and retention for LMI individuals and neighborhoods.
Philanthropy
Community Benefits Commitment: $93 million over 5 years
Fifth Third and its affiliates will disseminate $93 million in grants over the next five years. As Fifth Third increases its philanthropy it will consider support for capacity building, economic sustainability, public safety, education, youth workforce development, and the needs of older adults.
New Branches
Fifth Third will seek regulatory permission to open at least 10 new branches in LMI neighborhoods and/or neighborhoods of color. Fifth Third will work with NCRC for recommendations on locations for new branches and evaluate opening a branch on a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) campus. Fifth Third will also share all branch closures in LMI and/or neighborhoods of color with the National and Regional Advisory Forum in order to determine how the affected neighborhood’s banking needs will be met. Additionally, the Bank will expand the review to non-LMI neighborhood branch closures to ensure adjacent LMI communities are not negatively impacted.
Staffing
Fifth Third Bank has created a new position of Chief Corporate Responsibility and Reputation Officer. This new executive leadership position will be accountable for the comprehensive strategic framework of the Bank’s civic commitments, such as this agreement, and reputation management. Fifth Third Bank will also create a new role for a Senior Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Mortgage Leader. This individual will provide support and leadership in the CRA lending space, and will work closely with all business partners toward a well-rounded approach to this success. Fifth Third will retain and hire Mortgage Loan Originators (MLOs) who are focused on CRA success across its footprint. The staffing will include bi-lingual individuals to assist with services to Limited English Proficiency buyers. Fifth Third Bank will expand small business staffing with a newly created role for CRA Small Business Lenders. These Small Business Loan Officers will have experience, substantial contacts with, and/or cultural competency in working in the local communities. The following cities will be considered for Small Business Loan Officers: Chicago, Cincinnati/Dayton, Cleveland, Detroit, Columbus, Louisville, Tampa and Indianapolis.
Plan Governance
Fifth Third Bank will form a national Community Advisory Forum that will review and monitor the progress of the agreement, as well as statewide Advisory Forums for Ohio, Illinois/Chicago, North Carolina, Florida and Michigan that will provide input to Fifth Third for addressing community needs. Additionally, in partnership with NCRC, Fifth Third will conduct annual local Community Engagement meetings in all of their major markets in Florida, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and Indiana.
