Because Businesses Need More Than A Bank
We believe that being the best bank in our communities means being the best bank for businesses, their owners, and their employees.
City of Bridges Community Land Trust
City of Bridges Community Land Trust (CBCLT) in Pittsburgh is an example of that commitment. CBCLT works to create a Pittsburgh and Allegheny County with diverse communities where people can thrive, build wealth, establish roots, and foster community ties without the risk of displacement. The Community Land Trust (CLT) model ensures that the homes remain affordable in perpetuity by guaranteeing that every home is resold to another low/moderate income family through an agreed upon resale formula. The resale formula creates appreciation and wealth for the current owner and preserves the affordability of the home for the community at-large.
We have the privilege of supporting the day-to-day business banking needs of CBCLT, and in the past three years we have partnered to apply for and receive three Affordable Housing Program grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.
These three grants will create twelve new, permanently affordable homes in four Pittsburgh neighborhoods. We are also a trusted mortgage partner for the buyers of CBCLT homes, reinforcing our commitment to not only supporting CBCLT’s affordable housing development work but the families who most need the stability of affordable homeownership.
"First Commonwealth Bank is a trusted partner for us. In a world as complex as affordable homeownership development, they are consistently able to meet our capital needs and has a mortgage team we can trust our buyers with." ~ Ed Nusser, Executive Director, City of Bridges Land Trust

Central Ohio Community Development Improvement Corporation
When you put a mission business owner and a mission bank in the same room, you should expect them to take action.
That’s exactly what happened when our Central Ohio team sat with Clarence Simmons and Yaromir Steiner, owners of Simmons Development Company, LLC. to build a path to finance a $1.8 million line of credit to fund the construction of 4 duplexes in a development agreement with the Central Ohio Community Development Improvement Corporation (COCIC).
Clarence is a minority developer with an extensive background in developing affordable housing, constructing more than 650 affordable units throughout Central Ohio. Yaromir’s former development company established more than 7.4 million sq. ft. of mixed-use space including retail, restaurant, residential, entertainment, hospitality and office uses.
By providing capital and personally guaranteeing a portion of the loan, Yaromir provided the foundation Clarence needed to get the project off the ground. Through their partnership and our financing, the CCOIC will l sell the units as affordable housing units in Franklin County, Ohio, an area with significant housing inventory gaps.
First Commonwealth Bank has partnered with COCIC and their subsidiary IC since 2019, providing capital for their home ownership programs. We are also continually a mortgage partner for their affordable homeownership projects.
Clarence and Yaromir’s commitment to the lives of their neighbors in Central Ohio includes staffing their teams with men and women from distressed communities who are oftentimes simultaneously completing school and raising families.
“What I appreciate about Clarence and Yaromir are their hearts for our community. We share values, and individually we couldn’t have made this happen – it took us working in partnership to impact this community in the affordable housing space.” ~ Sabra Kershaw
2023 At A Glance
- Top SBA lender in all regions, including #2 in Pittsburgh, #2 in Columbus/Cincinnati and #4 in Cleveland
- $256 million in lending through 1,453 small business loans
Areas of Focus For Each Business We Support
Property loans, building and equipment financing, lines of credit, cash flow streamlining, remote capture, wire room activities.
Accept payments, inventory management, data security, next-day funding, collections.
Estate planning, home & auto insurance, brokerage services, wealth planning, fraud protection, safe deposit boxes.
Business retirement planning, benefits consulting, workers compensation, HR solutions, employee benefits plan engagement.
Branch services, online and mobile banking, investment management, personal online financial management tool for business owners.
They actually wanted to hear about the core of my business and what we were doing vs just looking at our financials.
They were the only bank that came to our location and listened to our story. They took a personal interest in us and have been instrumental in our growth.
Your mission is to improve the financial lives of their neighbors. That sums it up. What I've experienced is just that.