RBS
Sale of 93
Branches to US
Bank Stalled,
Info Withheld,
CRA
Protests
By
Matthew R. Lee
SOUTH
BRONX, March
26 -- When
Royal Bank of
Scotland
proposed to
sell its
93
Chicago-area
branches to US
Bank, the
comment period
was set to
expire on
February 20.
Today that was
extended to
April 25.
The
extension or
"re-publication
of notice"
came after
Fair
Finance Watch
and other
community
advocacy
organizations
commented to
the US Office
of the
Comptroller of
the Currency,
about lending
disparities
and US Bank's
refusal to
disclose how
many and which
of
the 93
branches it
would close.
FFW
commented,
back in
January, that
While
on this
disclosure of
branches which
would be
closed the OCC
should
extend the
comment
period, for
now, to ensure
consideration,
US Bank
NA (Ohio)'s
2012 HMDA data
reflect that
in the Chicago
MSA for home
purchase loans
both
conventional
and
subsidized, US
Bank made a
smaller
portion of its
loans to
Latinos than
did even the
aggregate,
including
lenders not
subject to the
Community
Reinvestment
Act.
For
conventional
home purchase
loans in the
Chicago MSA in
2012, US Bank
made 1083 such
loans to
whites, 78 to
African
Americans and
only 77
to Latinos.
That is, US
Bank made 14
such loans to
whites for
each
loan to a
Latino, a
bigger
disparity than
is the case
with the
aggregate.
For
the home
purchase loans
in Table 4-1
in the Chicago
MSA in 2012,
US
Bank made 268
such loans to
whites, 68 to
African
Americans and
only
60 to Latinos.
That is, US
Bank made 4.47
such loans to
whites for
each loan to a
Latino, a
significantly
bigger
disparity than
is the
case with the
aggregate.
US
Bank replied
that it
needn't
disclose which
branches it
would close.
Fair Finance
Watch
reiterated its
request in
Washington DC
in
mid-March,
along with
NCRC, and in
supplemental
comments. And
on
March 26, the
OCC confirmed
that the
comment period
is extended to
April 25, and
portions of US
Bank's
response
released.
The
problem is
that large
portions of US
Bank's
response are
withheld, or
simply
redacted in
black Magic
Marker, first
Tweeted here
by @FinanceWatchOrg,
click
here to view.
Fair Finance
Watch
and Inner City
Press
immediately
filed with the
OCC a Freedom
of Information
Act
request
"for
all withheld /
redacted
information
from US Bank's
March 21, 2014
submission in
connection
with its
application to
acquire
branches
from RBS
Charter One.
ICP / Fair
Finance Watch
commented on
the
application,
and earlier
today the OCC
provided a
redacted copy
of US
Bank's
submission.
Nearly the
entire fair
lending
response is
redacted, as
is information
about US
Bank's claimed
support to
non-profits.
Since such
information is
presumptively
public, it
must
be unredacted
and released.
We are
challenging
each
redaction,
making
this FOIA
request for
the entire,
unredacted
submission in
this
application
process we
timely
challenged."
Now
whether these
withholdings
can stand up
must be ruled
upon.
In terms of
commenting of
what was
released, ICP
says "Now that
US Bank has
admitted to
the Federal
Reserve that
it would
eliminate
Charter One's
Credit Builder
and energy
efficiency
loan programs,
and make it
more difficult
for the
customers it
would acquire
to avoid fees,
the Fed should
schedule
public
hearings."
Prediction:
the document
put online
yesterday will
be reported in
the Windy
City.
Meanwhile
Royal Bank of
Scotland is
looking to
sell off its
Citizen Bank
unit
in the
Northeast, to
Japan’s
Sumitomo
Mitsui
Financial
Group or
another. Watch
this site.
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