TowneBank is Awarded With Sixth Consecutive Outstanding CRA Rating
In a recent evaluation by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), TowneBank received an overall rating of "Outstanding," – the highest rating possible – on its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Performance. This rating marks the sixth, and consecutive, time that TowneBank has been awarded an outstanding rating since the bank’s founding in 1999.CRA exams evaluate performance and initiatives in meeting the credit needs of service areas, including low- and moderate-income individuals, neighborhoods, and businesses. The evaluation also considers community development loans and services and reviews the community development investments within the bank's assessment area.
Noteworthy projects contributing to the “Outstanding” rating included:
- 9,870 Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling $1.6 billion in 2020 and 2021. These SBA-backed loans helped businesses keep their workforce employed throughout Virginia and North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A $6.2 million loan to finance 120 affordable housing units in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk- Newport News, VA-NC MSA. This affordable housing project was made possible by the bank’s loan and exhibits leadership, responsiveness, and complexity due to a partnership with Virginia Housing, some equity financing by the bank, and the use of low-income housing tax credits.
- A $1.0 million SBA 504 program loan for economic development in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA.
- A $2.0 million loan to a non-profit organization that provides clothing, household items, and job skills training for low- and moderate-income individuals in the Richmond MSA.
- A $1.8 million loan to a non-profit organization that provides safe and sanitary low-rent housing for low-income individuals in the Charlotte MSA.
- A $2.5 million loan to an organization that develops, promotes, and implements economic strategies to improve the quality of life in rural North Carolina. The organization serves 78 rural counties in North Carolina, focusing on individuals with low and moderate incomes and communities with limited resources.
- A $4.3 million loan to a small business loan participation program that increases small business lending by reducing the lender’s risk and lowering loan-to-value through the purchase of a subordinate lien position in the Raleigh MSA.
- A $300,000 loan to a community development corporation that focuses on housing assistance and youth development for low-and moderate-income families in Pasquotank County, NC.
Since the last examination, TowneBank has made equity investments totaling $193.8 million and charitable donations totaling $13.6 million, combining to represent 11.8% of the bank’s average total investments as of year-end 2022.
Additionally, the bank provided 1,565 community development service activities for 7,972 hours during the assessment period. During the pandemic, the bank continued many service activities virtually and identified new service activities related to community needs, such as food services, for which to provide assistance.
“An outstanding CRA rating by the FDIC reflects the dedication of our bank to serve as a community asset,” said Billy Foster, TowneBank president and CEO. “Community reinvestment is essential to how we do business, and how we have since day one. Our compliance, credit, finance, and marketing teams work tirelessly to capture and report the many activities and procedures that this examination surveys. We share this rating with everyone in the Towne family. We are here to make our community proud.”