FirstBank, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks with a focus on “banking for good,” enters the year’s final quarter in a strong financial position. Across FirstBank’s Arizona branches, deposits grew 27.6 percent from $559.1 million to $713.4 million. Arizona loans also increased by 5.3 percent from $878.5 million to $925.1 million, while assets increased by 5.1 percent from $928.5 million to $975.9 million.
New consumer products including FirstBank’s Bloom account package, stimulus funds and the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) also impacted FirstBank’s total deposit growth in the third quarter.
“While we are pleased with our overall growth, we’re proud of our ability to help so many business owners process their PPP loans and assist our customers with their savings goals,” said Bryce Lloyd, FirstBank Arizona market president. “Arizona has faced some unique challenges this year, and we’re inspired by the way this community has rallied around each other. FirstBank will always prioritize the needs of our customers, community and employees, and we believe that mindset will make a positive impact as we look forward to recovering.”
Across all FirstBank branches including those in California and Colorado, FirstBank saw double-digit growth that drove assets to $23.5 billion, a more than 20 percent increase year-over-year. Total deposits grew 19 percent to $20.9 billion and total loans rose 15 percent to $12.9 billion.
“We’re fortunate to be well-capitalized and experiencing solid growth across our key business lines,” said FirstBank CEO Jim Reuter. “But we recognize this is a challenging year for many. As a bank that prioritizes customer and community needs, we feel it’s a critical time to reinvest in the causes and individuals that need it most.”
In addition to contributing well over $600,000 to COVID response and economic relief efforts earlier this year, the bank recently announced a significant investment to help address the affordable housing crisis, which has only intensified since the start of the pandemic. FirstBank pledged $30 million to both Habitat for Humanity and Impact Development Fund — a $60 million total investment — to help create and preserve more affordable housing communities.
FirstBank also partnered with its $20K Good Business Giveaway winner, Phoenix-based Americano Foods, to raise funds for the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon following the devastating explosions that took place in August. In total, $8,150 was donated to CCCL.
FirstBank began providing banking services in Colorado in 1963. Today, the bank maintains more than $20 billion in assets and operates more than 110 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 nearly $70 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 employees a financial stake in the bank’s success through its Employee Stock Ownership Program.
