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2023 Community Committment Awards Submission

  • Entry Category: Affordable Housing
  • Asset Size: Medium

First Horizon recognizes the importance and value of diversity, equity and inclusion in the banking industry. We are committed to developing creative strategies in our products, operations and community outreach efforts that support the diverse populations where we work and live. To make a meaningful impact, we realized our strategy would have to be long-term, go beyond what the industry was typically doing, and continually evaluate to ensure we were meeting the needs of our communities. The approach we have taken is informed by data and by connecting with our diverse communities. We continue to meet with our community and non-profit leaders through market counsels that we started in 2018, an annual needs assessment through our associates in these markets, local CRA advisory boards that meet two to three times annually, and by attending community listening tours. These actions allow us to gain a greater knowledge and understanding of our client’s needs across our 12-state footprint in the southeast. Through our efforts to understand our diverse communities, we realized that the industry’s standard approach and the “cookie cutter” products were not improving the key metrics in our communities. Our commitment to strengthen our communities was not a reaction to regulatory pressure or consent order. This freedom to collaborate has allowed us to adjust strategies and refine products to make a more substantial impact. We are highlighting a few of those initiatives and programs that we feel exemplify our innovation, commitment, and approach. Among the initiatives that have had the greatest benefit to our communities are: $3.95 billion Community Benefit Plan, Affordable Housing Symposiums, Specialty CRA Lending Products and Specialty Grant Programs.