| After
Investors Bank Hit With FDIC Conditions,
CRA Protests To Community Bank NA - Elmira
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Story Order
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
FEDERAL COURT / S
Bronx, Nov 6 – Whether or not
the U.S. Community
Reinvestment Act will be again
enforced until the new
Administration and its
regulators is an open
question. And now for the
Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency, Community Bank
NA's application to acquire
Elmira Savings Bank will be a
litmus test.
On November 6,
Fair Finance Watch and Inner
City Press filed with the OCC
"This is a timely
first comment opposing and
requesting an extension of the
OCC's public comment period on
Community Bank NA's
applications to acquire Elmira
Savings
Bank.
Fair Finance Watch and Inner
City Press have long been
concerned by disparities in
CBNY's lending. Recently,
similar disparities at
Investors Bank, raised by
Inner City Press, triggered
conditions on Investors, by
the FDIC. See here
So what's
up with the OCC, on CBNA's
disparities?
The applicant
Community Bank National
Association in 2020 in New
York State based on its
disparate marketing made 4329
mortgage loans to whites, with
871 denials to whites -- while
making only TWENTY SEVEN loans
to African Americans, with
five denials.
That is, for CBNA
in NYS, 4329 loans to whites
versus only 27 to African
Americans.
In Vermont
in 2020, CBNA based on
its disparate marketing made
224 mortgage loans to whites,
with 75 denials to whites --
while making only ONE loans to
an African American applicant,
with one
denial. This
application should not be
approved, much less at this
time."
Meanwhile, the
FDIC wrote:
"Matthew
Lee, Esquire Executive
Director Inner City Press/Fair
Finance Watch Dear Mr.
Lee: We are writing to inform
you that the FDIC approved
Investors Bank’s application
to acquire eight branches from
Berkshire Bank. As part of the
application review process, we
investigated the issues you
raised in your e-mail dated
January 19, 2019... The Bank
will develop and Board approve
an Action Plan within 60 days
of the effective date of
this Order to ensure that its
home mortgage lending
adequately addresses the
credit needs of all segments
of its market areas. The
Action Plan should
include, at a minimum, the
following: a. The Bank will
regularly monitor application
and origination activity of
home mortgage loans in
majority-minority census
tracts and from Blacks
throughout the Bank’s
assessment areas. b. The
Bank will ensure marketing and
outreach efforts are inclusive
of all communities,
including minority communities
within all the Bank’s
assessment areas. The
marketing and outreach efforts
should focus on home mortgage
product awareness.
Marketing activities should
use materials and media that
reflect the racial and
ethnic composition of
the targeted communities. The
Bank should also have
specific advertising and
outreach goals, and the
results of these efforts
should be documented,
monitored, and evaluated for
effectiveness. 5. Upon
Board approval of this Order,
the Bank will provide a copy
of the signed Order to
the FDIC's New York Regional
Office within 30 days.
6. Upon Board approval of such
Action Plan, the Bank will
provide a copy of the
Plan to the FDIC’s New
York Regional Office. 7. The
Bank will provide the FDIC’s
New York Regional Office with
quarterly updates
detailing its progress in
meeting the goals listed in
the Action
Plan."
So
what's up with
the OCC, on
CBNA's
disparities?
Who's Hsu, or
Omarova?
Watch this site.
***
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