| Community
Reinvestment Act Challenge to United
Community Bank - Progress, Test Case
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
Book
BBC-Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
NY
Mag
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
June 24 – Will the Community
Reinvestment Act actually be
enforced against banks with
disparate lending records?
Fair Finance
Watch, with Inner City Press
on the FOIA, is raising the
issue to regulators, on June
22 to the Federal Reserve and
FDIC on United Community Bank
Dear Chair
Powell, Secretary Misback and
others in the FRS:
This is a
request for a full copy of,
and a timely first comment on,
the Applications of United
Community Banks, Inc., to
merge with Progress Financial
Corporation, and subsidiary,
Progress Bank and Trust, both
of Huntsville, Alabama.
As an initial matter, this is
a request that the FRS
immediately send by email to
Inner City Press all
non-exempt portions of the
applications / notices for
which the Applicants have
requested confidential
treatment. Fair Finance
Watch has been tracking United
Community Bank and finds it
lending patterns, including in
the newly released 2021 HMDA
data not taken into account in
CRA exams, troubling.
In South
Carolina in 2021, United
Community Banks made 1482
mortgage loans to whites with
310 denials. Meanwhile to
African Americans in the state
it made only THIRTY NINE
loans, while denying fully
sixteen applications. A
referral should be made to the
DOJ for fair lending
violations.
Nationwide, United Community
Banks is scarcely better. In
2021 overall it made 9252
mortgage loans to whites with
1852 denials. Meanwhile to
African Americans nationwide
it made only 362 loans, while
denying fully 131
applications. A referral
should be made to the DOJ for
a pattern and practice of fair
lending
violations.
Public evidentiary hearings
are needed, at least like the
public meeting the Fed has
belatedly set on two Canadian
banks' acquisition proposals
in the US.
FFW
and Inner City Press have been
deeply concerned about the
rush by the Federal Reserve to
rubber-stamp mergers by
redliners. This has been
killing the Community
Reinvestment Act and we timely
request public hearings.
The comment period should be
extended; evidentiary hearings
should be held; and on the
current record, the
application should not be
approved
On June 23, the
Fed wrote to the applicant's
lawyers: June 23, 2022
Lee Kiser Nelson Mullins Riley
& Scarborough LLP 2
W. Washington Street, Suite
400 Greenville, South
Carolina 29601
Lee.kiser@nelsonmullins.com
Dear Mr. Kiser: This refers to
the application by United
Community Banks, Inc.,
Blairsville, Georgia, to
merge with Progress
Financial Corporation, and
thereby acquire Progress Bank
and Trust (Bank), both
of Huntsville, Alabama,
pursuant to section 3(a)(5) of
the Bank Holding Company
Act. Enclosed is a copy
of a letter received from
Matthew Lee, Esq., Executive
Director Inner City
Press/Fair Finance Watch,
commenting on the
application. A response
to the comments should be
received by this Reserve Bank
within eight business
days from the date of
this letter. In order to
expedite processing of your
application, please send
copies of your response to the
Reserve Bank, the Board of
Governors, the protestant, and
to the supervisory
agencies that initially
received copies of the
application.
Watch this
site.
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a
month helps keep us going and grants you
access to exclusive bonus material on our
Patreon page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 20047, Dag
Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2022 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com
|
,
