Locally owned bank reaches major lending milestone

ST. PETERSBURG — First Home Bank has made good on its pledge to become a preeminent supporter of minority-owned businesses in the Tampa Bay region. The St. Petersburg-based bank recently announced that it had surpassed its goal, set 10 months ago, to loan $50 million to companies owned by members of minority groups.

The bank’s Minority-Owned Business Lending Program has, to date, originated loans exceeding a total of $51.6 million, according to a news release. The initiative was established to help alleviate some of the problems faced by minority-owned small businesses, such as language and cultural barriers, lack of trust in financial institutions, red tape, financial literacy and more.