Luther Burbank Savings Receives Bank Enterprise Award

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Oct. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Luther Burbank Savings (the "Bank") announced that on Thursday, September 18^th, it received a Bank Enterprise Award ("BEA") of $105,000 for providing Affordable Housing Mortgage Loan, an Affordable Housing Development Loan and Project Investments in California. This award was part of the fiscal year 2014 BEA Program offered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund ("CDFI Fund").

The Bank was one of 69 FDIC-insured depository institutions that received awards under the fiscal year 2014 BEA Program, which awarded a total of nearly $17.9 million to support the selected depository institutions in their efforts to serve economically distressed communities across the nation. Recipients of the awards are required to invest their awards in eligible activities, such as affordable housing projects, small business loans and commercial real estate projects, in distressed communities. The activities that qualify a potential recipient for an award under the BEA Program occur in census tracts where at least 30 percent of the population lives at or below the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is 1.5 times above the national average. Awards granted were selected after a comprehensive review of 98 applications received by the CDFI Fund from FDIC-insured depository institutions across the nation.

Chief Executive Officer and President, John Biggs states, "It is quite an honor and privilege to be selected our first time applying as a recipient under the BEA Program, which recognizes Luther Burbank Savings' commitment to serving low-to-moderate income communities. The award will provide valuable support for furthering our efforts to build our loan and investment portfolio, particularly in loans secured by multifamily properties, and increases our other community development activities."

About the BEA Program

The Bank Enterprise Award Program ("BEA Program") rewards FDIC-insured depository institutions for making investments in the most distressed communities in the country, as well as in certified CDFIs. In order to receive an award, depository institutions must successfully demonstrate an increase in their investments in census tracts where at least 30 percent of the population lives at or below the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is 1.5 times above the national average. The BEA Program awards also help depository institutions offset some of their risk associated with investing in these distressed communities and provide an incentive to invest. The greater the loan increase, the greater the potential award. Since its inception in 1994, the BEA Program has awarded grants totaling approximately $411 million.

For more information about the BEA Program, please visit the CDFI Fund's website at www.cdfifund.gov/bea.

About the CDFI Fund

The CDFI Fund was created to promote economic and community development by empowering America's underserved and distressed communities. Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $2.0 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through the CDFI Program, the Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program, and the Native America CDFI Assistance Program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $40 billion in tax credit allocation authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, and $325 million has been guaranteed in bonds through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program. By increasing funding to CDFIs that specialize in providing affordable credit, the CDFI Fund helps build businesses, create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods.

For more information about the CDFI Fund, visit the CDFI Fund's website at www.cdfifund.gov.

About Luther Burbank Savings

With nearly $4 billion in assets, Luther Burbank Savings is an FDIC insured, privately-owned bank focusing on traditional savings and loan services. Privately held, our responsibilities are to our customers, not public stockholders. Luther Burbank Savings operates with a simple, consistent business plan designed to safeguard assets and serve the public. For additional information, please visit our website www.lutherburbanksavings.com.

CONTACT: Elizabeth Wineinger, 1-310-606-8964, [email protected]

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SOURCE Luther Burbank Savings

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