WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) announced that three Louisville-based banks have received more than $670,000 in federal funding for their investments in the area’s most distressed areas.

Metro Bank, PBI Bank, and First Capital Bank of Kentucky are each recipients of the 2012 Bank Enterprise Awards, funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The CDFI fund was established in 1994 to bolster local financial institutions’ efforts to revitalize communities with high levels of poverty.

“The need for strong investments in distressed neighborhoods is high, but for our community, the return on those investments is even higher,” Congressman Yarmuth said. “I applaud these banks for their commitment to helping more Louisville families and small business owners build strong futures, and I am proud to be able to announce federal investments to help them continue that important work.”

Metro Bank received $415,000 to support its efforts to revitalize business and commerce in economically distressed neighborhoods, or areas that have been the victims of long-term declines in employment opportunities, disinvestment, and neglect. Metro Bank was created in 1992 as part of a city government effort to boost the economies of 12 inner-city neighborhoods east and west of Downtown. It is now an independent financial institution.

“This award represents our commitment to providing financial resources that meet the needs of our customers within Jefferson County,” said Pedro A. Bryant, Chairman, President, and CEO of Metro Bank. “We have a unique business model. Our focus since inception has been on distressed census tracts. We are very appreciative of the Bank Enterprise Award because it will help us to continue serving the purpose for which Metro Bank was created.”

PBI Bank received $247,087 for providing affordable home mortgage loans and small business loans and projects investments in the distressed communities of Hart County, KY, which is identified as a federally distressed area. PBI Bank, a state-chartered bank with $1.3 billion in assets, is headquartered in Louisville and operates 18 full-service banking offices in Kentucky.

“We are honored to receive the Bank Enterprise Award and greatly appreciate the nomination.  It is our mission at PBI Bank to support our communities,” said John Taylor, President and CEO of PBI Bank. “We continually look for opportunities to lend a helping hand to consumers and local businesses, and always strive to meet the needs of our communities.”

First Capital Bank of Kentucky received $10,921 to continue its work with local organizations that serve low- and moderate-income individuals and promote community development, including the Louisville Urban League, Family Scholar House, Habitat for Humanity, and Metro Bank. Through First Capital’s investment in the Metro Bank, it has been able to secure funds through the CDFI Bank Enterprise Award in the past.

“Once again, I am pleased to receive this award on behalf of First Capital Bank of Kentucky,” said H. David Hale, Chairman, President, and CEO of First Capital Bank. “The funding associated with this recognition will permit the bank to continue its involvement to assist community organizations in fulfilling their housing and community development-related missions. We are a community-focused institution, and we’re pleased to participate in a program that is so widely supported by Louisville’s distinguished leaders and officials.”

The awards to Louisville banks are part of nearly $18 million in Bank Enterprise Awards announced Tuesday for 59 institutions across the country.

“The BEA Program is a strategic tool for community-focused institutions as they partner with private and public interests in search of the best solutions for the neighborhoods they serve,” said CDFI Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell. “The awards the CDFI Fund provides today will be reinvested in low-income and distressed communities, supporting new jobs, stronger small businesses, and more financial education and banking services for neighborhoods across the country.”

About the Bank Enterprise Award Program

The BEA Program awards FDIC-insured depository institutions for making investments in the most distressed communities throughout the nation. The BEA Program provides monetary awards to banks and thrifts that have successfully demonstrated an increase in their investments in census tracts with at least 30 percent of residents having incomes less than the national poverty level and 1.5 times the national unemployment rate. The awards also help banks and thrifts offset some of their risk and meet capital ratio requirements. The BEA Program is multiplying financial institutions’ impacts and generating greater economic opportunity for those with the least access to financial products and services.

About the CDFI Fund

Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded over $1.7 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through the CDFI Program, the Bank Enterprise Awards Program, the Capital Magnet Fund, the Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program, and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $33 billion in tax credit authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program. For more information on the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit www.cdfifund.gov.