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As JPMorgan Chase Shutters WaMu
Branches, Regulators Missing, Commitments Gone
Byline: Matthew R. Lee of Inner
City Press on Wall Street: News Analysis
NEW YORK,
January 23 -- JPMorgan
Chase is moving to closed down dozens of the Washington Mutual bank
branches
the government allowed it to acquire last year with no public notice or
comment
period. In Dallas, Chase has targeted 23 WaMu branches for closure, and
another
six in Fort Worth. In the Chicago area, Chase says it will shutter 57
WaMu
locations. More branch closings will follow across the nation.
Community and consumers groups are belated
protesting the acquisition,
which was a one of a slew of
so-called emergency transactions on which no
Community Reinvestment Act comments were considered, including the
accession of
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to bank holding company status,
and Bank
of
America's now discredited acquisition of Merrill Lynch.
JPMorgan Chase
benefited from regulator-protected acquisitions not only of WaMu but,
before
that, of Bear Stearns. As first
reported by Inner City Press, Bronx-based Fair
Finance Watch submitted to the Federal Reserve Board comments on
these
transactions, but was told that emergency did not allow consideration
of the
issues raised, including prospective branches closings.
JPM Chase, founded in 1799, WaMu boondoggle
and branch closings not shown
JPMorgan Chase has now told groups who have asked if
it will continue
Washington Mutual's CRA programs and commitments that since there is no
more
Washington Mutual, there is no more commitment.
This comes in the wake of JPMorgan Chase's
Jaime Dimon reversing himself from a stated commitment to mortgages
through
brokers to abruptly shutting down Chase's wholesale mortgage unit.
While groups
are told this will give Chase more control over the terms of loans,
brokers point
out that Chase ultimately had control in the wholesale business, too. Commitments are made to be broken,
apparently, particularly those by companies the federal regulators
bailed out
or merged out of existence. What, the question grows, is Timothy
Geithner's
position on this Main Street issue?
Update: later on January
23, community groups were told that JPMorgan Chase plans to close over
40 WaMu branches in New York State...
Inner City Press on Geithner (video stream) click here
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