Our Commitment To Point Breeze And Home Ownership In All the Communities We Serve
In 1934, at the height of the Great Depression, my grandfather Samuel A. Green founded Firstrust Bank in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Philadelphia with a simple idea—to help those in need get mortgages to purchase homes, at a time when commercial banks were not lending to certain segments of the community. Firstrust Bank has since grown to become the largest family-owned, full-service commercial bank in our region by maintaining our founder's entrepreneurial spirit and his commitment to the community by fostering home ownership and prosperity.
While Firstrust has grown beyond our humble beginnings in Point Breeze, we've not lost connection to our roots. In fact, this connection to our founding principles and mission is alive today in our bank's culture, our employees and in our unwavering commitment to Point Breeze - a neighborhood we have continuously and steadfastly served for 85 years, in good times and bad, even when every other financial institution has either left this community or determined not to be there at all.
Today, the business of fostering home ownership is very different than in the days of my grandfather. It has become a highly-regulated business and banks are required to follow relatively precise guidelines regarding the consideration and evaluation of borrower creditworthiness and repayment capacity. These new regulations are the direct result of the financial crisis of 2008 when many people lost their homes. But even so, we have never lost sight of the fact that we are in the business of helping people achieve their dreams - regardless of their race, religion or ethnic background. We embrace this diversity. Our heartfelt commitment to people and their prosperity is who we are at Firstrust, and guides us as we strive to make as many qualified loans as we can, in Point Breeze and throughout the communities in the Philadelphia region, we have the privilege to serve.
This is not a new approach…rather it is a vital part of the Firstrust Mission that we embrace and practice every day:
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To cultivate prosperity for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve
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To continue to provide high-quality financial services in a competitive and profitable manner
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To foster home ownership and thriving enterprise
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To actively encourage personal growth
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To build and maintain a strong financial base with a view to perpetual existence.
As we enter our 85th year of service to the Point Breeze community and the other communities we serve, we will continue to be a bank that serves its customers with the highest of integrity and responsibility.
