Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the United Nations to Wall Street to the Inner City

By Matthew R. Lee

NEW YORK, May 15 -- When Royal Bank of Scotland proposed to sell its 93 Chicago-area branches to US Bank, Inner City Press asked US Bank's regulator the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency how many and which branches it would close.

  Now in a May 14 letter the OCC only sent to Inner City Press on May 15, the agency has approved US Bank's application, without addressing the impact of the branch closings or Inner City Press' pending Freedom of Information Act appeal.

  Inner City Press is putting the OCC approval letter, which does not seem to have been reported anywhere else at least according to Google News, online here.

  The comment period to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was set to expire on February 20. After Inner City Press' request is was extended to April 25.

  US Bank submitted a list but cynically asked for "confidential treatment" for all of it -- that is, to withhold it from the public. Inner City Press submitted a Freedom of Information Act request, as it has done to the Federal Reserve Board (and on other topics, to the US State Department) - and on April 25, the OCC responded.

  From the document Inner City Press has obtained under FOIA, and now exclusively puts online here, along with the OCC FOIA letter to Inner City Press which will be appealed, US Bank would close at least 13 branches. In the until-now confidential filing with the OCC, US Bank says it would close RBS / Charter One's 10200 S. Ewing Street, Chicago branch in a low income tracts and send customers to a "receiving" branches in a non-low income tract.

  US Bank would also close its own branch at 8905 S. Commercial Avenue, Chicago in a low income tract.

This comes after Fair Finance Watch and other community advocacy organizations in NCRC commented to the OCC about lending disparities.

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 could stand up had to be ruled upon.  Now they have been.

  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."

  Now ICP / FFW has said, " As a first comment on the wrongfully withheld and delayed information, US Bank says it will close 13 of the branches, including in low income census tracts. For example, US Bank says it would close RBS / Charter One's 10200 S. Ewing Street, Chicago branch in a low income tracts and send customers to a "receiving" branches in a non-low income tract.  US Bank would also close RBS / Charter One's branches at 8905 S. Commercial Avenue, Chicago in a low income tract. This militates for the public hearings ICP has request from its first comment."

  In its rubber stamp approval, the OCC denies the request for a public hearing, and ignores this pending May 3 FOIA appeal:

  Does OCC approval with this UNaddressed echo the type of regulatory laxity that led to the 2008 predatory lending meltdown? We say yes. Watch this site.