Lakewood, Colo., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstBank, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks with a focus on “banking for good,” announced it surpassed a major financial milestone in the first quarter: reaching over $20 billion in assets. The bank entered the second quarter well-capitalized with plans to stay focused on meeting the changing needs of its stakeholders through ongoing response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Recent global events have created new challenges for everyone,” said FirstBank CEO Jim Reuter. “We have always focused on long-term stability over quick gains and prioritized the needs of our customers, communities and employees. This has put us in a strong financial position to weather the storm ahead. We believe these continued efforts will enable us to emerge from this crisis stronger than before, similar to past economic downturns.”
FirstBank showed resilient growth across several key metrics compared to Q1 2019. Net loans increased to $11.53 billion from $10.74 billion, and total deposits grew to $18.2 billion, up from $17.17 billion. FirstBank’s Arizona and California branches also experienced healthy growth during the first quarter. Total deposits at Phoenix-area branches grew more than 23 percent to $618.8 million. Among California branches, total deposits increased by nearly 8 percent to $439.3 million.
The bank also took an active role in helping those hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to offering SBA Paycheck Protection Program loans to small businesses and developing a customer assistance program, FirstBank donated $75,000 to the Colorado COVID Relief Fund. The bank even teamed up with El Pomar and Community First Foundation to contribute $150,000 to Make4Covid, helping create and manufacture highly needed personal protective equipment to hospitals throughout the state.
The bank, which is a presenting partner of Arizona Gives Day, also supported Arizona Gives’ Nonprofit Emergency Relief Fund to help local nonprofits recoup lost donations in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, Arizona Gives Day was able to raise a record $6.1 million for over 900 nonprofits.
“The pandemic has created a devastating ripple effect. As an organization that lives and breathes ‘banking for good’, we want to ensure the financial health and vitality of nonprofits, businesses and customers alike,” added Reuter.
To learn more about FirstBank’s response to COVID-19, visit: https://efirstbankblog.com/coronavirus/.
About FirstBank
FirstBank began providing banking services in Colorado in 1963. Today, the bank maintains more than $20 billion in assets and operates more than 115 branch locations across Colorado, Arizona and California. FirstBank offers a variety of checking accounts, savings accounts, home equity loans, mortgages, and a full range of commercial banking services, including financing, treasury management and deposit accounts. Since 2000, FirstBank has been recognized as a leader in corporate philanthropy, contributing more than $65 million and thousands of volunteer hours to charitable organizations. The company is also unique in that a large portion of its stock is owned by management and employees, giving all employees a financial stake in the bank’s success through its Employee Stock Ownership Program. For more information, visit www.efirstbank.com.
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