| Fed Governors Diss Community
Reinvestment Act As FRBNY Approves Berkshire
Bank With NTI Rating
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
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SDNY COURT, March
10 –
When the US bank regulators
and Administration say they
are taking the Community
Reinvestment Act more
seriously, it does not appear
to be true.
Case in point:
the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York on February 28, on
Berkshire Bank which got a
rare Needs to Improve CRA
rating in New York State, gave
out an approval on a delegated
basis. The FRBNY cannot, as a
matter of law and as an entity
owned by private banks, deny
or even condition an approval.
This is a new low.
Fair
Finance Watch, with Inner City
Press on the FOIA, which
commented to the Fed on
January 8, has immediately
filed a petition for review
saying it should be reviewed
by each current, and all
Administration-nominated
Governors:
Dear Chair
Powell, Secretary Misback and
others in the FRS: This
is a timely petition to review
the decision today by the
FRBNY to approve - on a
delegated basis -- the
Applications of TBB
Investments LLC and TBB
Intermediate LLC to become
bank holding companies by
acquiring Berkshire Bancorp,
Inc and Berkshire Bank --
which got a rare Needs to
Improve CRA rating in New
York.
Significantly - and we think,
disposively and requiring
review by the full Board and
each member, and the nominated
members - Berkshire Bank
received a “Needs to Improve”
rating in the New York state
assessment area during its May
7, 2019, CRA Performance
Evaluation.
How could
the Reserve Bank, which has no
authority to deny or even
condition approval on
applications, deign to rubber
stamp this application? This
is a new low, and shows the
FRS is not complying with its
and the Administration's
public statements about CRA
and fair lending...
See also:
"Reclusive landlord Moses Marx
resigns as Berkshire chairman,
see here.
FFW and
Inner City Press are now even
more deeply concerned about
the rush by the Federal
Reserve's to rubber-stamp
mergers by redliners and
predatory lenders. This has
been killing the Community
Reinvestment Act.
This bogus delegated approval
must be stayed and reviewed by
each Governor and nominated
Governor.
Very Truly
Yours,
Matthew Lee, Esq.
Executive Director Inner
City Press/Fair Finance Watch
This was sent to
the FDIC (Frank Hughes),
NYSDFS, and the bank lawyers
at Stoock.
In a
letter dated March 9 emailed
to Inner City Press / Fair
Finance Watch on March 10,
Federal Reserve Board
Secretary Ann E. Misback
wrote, "Your petition for
review was presented to the
Board, and no member of the
Board requested review of the
Reserve Bank’s action.
Accordingly, your request that
the Board review the Reserve
Bank’s action on the
Application is denied." These
Governors are: Chair Jerome H.
Powell, Michelle W. Bowman,
Christopher J. Waller and,
yes, Lael
Brainard."
They say that
a privately
owned Federal
Reserve Bank,
which has not
authority to
disapprove any
application,
can approve an
application by
a bank with a
Needs to
Improve CRA
rating. We'll
have more on
this.
It is a litmus test. Failed by
these Governors.
***
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