First American International Bank
| Private | |
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters |
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
Key people | Mr. Patrick Yau |
| Products | Banking |
| Revenue |
N/A (Asset = $ 118.287 million) Return on assets = 0.41 Return on equity = 0.93 |
| Website |
First American International Bank (恆通銀行) is an overseas Chinese bank in the United States. Headquartered in Brooklyn, with branch offices in Chinatown, Manhattan and in Chinatown, Flushing, this privately held community bank was first established on November 15, 1999.
The bank was established to serve Asian, Chinese, low-income, recent immigrants located in the five boroughs of New York City, because these people lack the necessary credit history, and thus would often likely to be turned down by other mainstream banks. Nearly 80% of First American National Bank's basic banking account services, consumer and business loans, and mortgages have been made in low-moderate income and distressed areas as defined by the United States Department of the Treasury.
The bank survives in the fierce competition by venturing into new services such as providing pre-credit and post-credit counseling to customers, and also working year-round with local social service organizations such as the Chinese American Planning Council in conducting educational and counseling sessions on the use of basic banking services, personal credit, and housing mortgages for Chinese immigrants. Its secured credit card programs for new immigrants to build credit history has been widely used.
The bank has been designated as a Certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the United States Department of the Treasury.