Community Commitment

First Citizens Bank has demonstrated its commitment to outstanding community leadership and citizenship for more than 100 years. This is evident through a tradition of involvement that includes philanthropy, leadership and volunteer support of thousands of initiatives.

As part of our commitment to the communities we serve, First Citizens champions financial literacy initiatives, such as the Bank at School program in West Virginia.

Community involvement is a vital part of First Citizens' success in all of the markets we serve. We believe it's part of our corporate responsibility to give back to the communities we call home, and it's integral to our business development efforts.

The majority of our community efforts fall into one of the following four categories:

• Economic and Community Development
• Education, with an emphasis on Financial Literacy
• Health and Human Services
• Arts and Culture

We support these areas through the contribution of both talent and money. We differentiate our support of education by focusing on financial literacy. To that end, we champion hundreds of financial literacy initiatives throughout our markets.

Our volunteers' time and talent are among the most valuable contributions we make to our communities.

First Citizens Community Awards Program

To recognize associates who demonstrate stellar volunteer service in their communities, we've launched the First Citizens Community Involvement Awards program. This program rewards well-deserving associates for their tireless efforts on behalf of the communities in which they live and work.

Community involvement is a vital part of First Citizens' success in all of the markets we serve. We pledge to uphold our corporate responsibility to help make our communities better places to live.

Community Commitment at a Glance

First Citizens demonstrates its commitment to outstanding community involvement throughout the markets we serve. Here are just a few examples:

• The First Citizens Bank Customer Service Award is given to companies that go above and beyond customer expectations in delivering service. The following recipients were recently honored in North Carolina: ALB Decorator Fabrics, Carteret County; Flat Rock Playhouse, Hendersonville; Linprint Company, Wilmington; Jefferson’s florist, Greenville; Golden Personnel Services Inc., Winston-Salem; Supplies for Racing and Industry Inc., a Mooresville-based racing auto parts supply company, Charlotte; B.B. Barns garden center, Asheville; and R+M, a Cary branding agency, Raleigh.

• First Citizens Bank held “shred days” in Wilmington, N.C., with the N.C. Attorney General, and in Cary, N.C., to help local residents fight against identity theft. Local shred companies provided mobile trucks at each branch to destroy residents’ unwanted sensitive materials free of charge.

• With a $100,000 contribution, First Citizens Bank is leading the way in corporate support for the “More Than You Imagined” building project at Transylvania Community Hospital in Brevard, N.C. This donation will help build a new Inpatient Wing and renovate support facilities.  The major focus of this project involves construction of 30 new patient rooms and state-of-the-art, centralized nursing stations, which will replace the inpatient facilities built in 1973.

• First Citizens has a longstanding tradition of supporting our military communities and providing special banking services and consideration to troops and families. For example, we have developed a loan program especially designed to meet the credit needs of military families. We're also partnering with the Armed Services YMCA to help sponsor programs that support service members and their families.

• We have partnered with UNC Charlotte since 1987 to offer the First Citizens Scholars Medal, the University’s highest honor for faculty scholarship and intellectual inquiry. UNC Charlotte Africana Studies Professor Tanure Ojaide was named the 2006 recipient for his scholarship and research on behalf of Africa and for his dedication to the critical issues facing the African people.

• Associates in the bank’s Wake County headquarters market generously donate to the United Arts, an organization that funds a variety of local artistic endeavors throughout the community.

• Also in the Triangle area of North Carolina, First Citizens associates have a tradition of volunteering at UNC-TV’s annual fundraising event. Some 50 volunteers answered hundreds of calls from public television contributors on one Saturday night.