First Citizens amends community benefits agreement tied to failed bank deal

After facing pressure from community groups, First Citizens BancShares Inc. has reached an agreement to uphold some of the commitments Silicon Valley Bank made prior to its failure.

The Raleigh, N.C.-based bank reached an agreement with several community groups to add an additional $6.5 billion in commitments to the existing $16 billion community benefit agreement (CBA) it struck in 2021 in conjunction with its acquisition of CIT Group Inc.

The announcement comes after community groups entered talks with First Citizens following its acquisition of substantially all the assets of the failed Silicon Valley Bank. The groups pushed First Citizens to follow through on the commitments SVB Financial Group had agreed to when it acquired Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. in July 2021 and in an $11.2 billion CBA in January 2022.

The $6.5 billion addition includes $2.25 billion in small business lending, $3.6 billion in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) community development lending and investing, $650 million in residential mortgages for low- and moderate-income borrowers and in low- and moderate-income census tracks and $35 million in CRA grants or contributions. The addition will benefit the markets Silicon Valley Bank served in Northern California and Eastern Massachusetts.

First Citizens formulated the agreement with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition; Rise Economy, formerly the California Reinvestment Coalition; The Greenlining Institute; the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance; and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations.

"We applaud First Citizens Bank for stepping up to honor community commitments made by Silicon Valley Bank, and for doing so on top of its existing CBA with California and national communities," Kevin Stein, chief of legal and strategy for Rise Economy, said in a statement.