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December 21, 1999
First Union Pledges Initial $250,000 to Capital Fund for Minority-owned Heritage Community Bank
WILMINGTON, Del. - First Union Corporation announced today that it has pledged to invest $250,000 to support the startup of Heritage Community Bank, which is proposed to be Delaware's first minority-owned bank.
First Union's investment advances Heritage Capital Investment Corporation's plan to raise $3 million to meet the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's capitalization requirement to start a new bank. The organization will change its name to Heritage Community Bank after completing the fund-raising phase.
"We are excited to offer the first financial pledge to Heritage Community Bank's capital fund," said Donn Scott, First Union's regional market president. "First Union has a long history of support for and partnership with minority-owned banks, which can help more effectively serve customers in our communities. We hope our pledge today helps trigger additional capital commitments from other investors."
Heritage Community Bank is designed to be a federally-insured savings bank serving residents of Wilmington and neighboring communities. The bank will offer general financial services and focus on meeting the distinct needs of lower-income and minority customers in Delaware.
"We are grateful to First Union for this first capital commitment as we continue to work to finalize other commitments so that Heritage Community Bank opens next year as a new beginning in our communities for the 21st century," said Edwin Smith, Chairman and CEO of Heritage Capital Investment Corporation.
"For the last five years, we have been building partnerships, educating the low- to moderate-income markets, and providing home equity and mortgage loans, through our subsidiary Heritage Capital Credit Corporation, in both urban and rural Delaware," Smith said. "We also continued to forge ahead in seeking capital investments from First Union, other leading banks, corporations and institutional investors doing business in Delaware. These socially responsible institutions are working through structural barriers to help us establish Heritage Community Bank, which will meet the banking needs of underserved communities throughout our state and the city of Wilmington."
Since 1996, First Union has committed more than $46 million in support for community development financial institutions and minority-owned banks throughout its operating region.
"We support the growth of community-based financial institutions that can help serve lower-income and minority customers," said Robbin Moore, First Union's community development investment manager. "First Union has invested in other minority-owned banks throughout our marketplace, including institutions in Atlanta, Richmond and Philadelphia, to better serve local residents."
In 1998, First Union committed $95 million in community loans and investments to customers and communities in Delaware, including $25 million in mortgages for low- and moderate-income families and $52 million in small business loans to support economic growth.
The nation's sixth largest bank holding company, First Union Corporation is a leading provider of financial services to more than 16 million customers throughout the East Coast and nation. The company has full-service offices in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
For more information about Heritage Community Bank, please contact Edwin Smith at (302) 658-2265 or by e-mail at HeritageCapital@aol.com.
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