As
Otting Targets CRA He Refused
To Consider Public Comment on
Chinatown Acquisition Now
Appeal
By Matthew R.
Lee, Video,
story,
FOIA
docs
NEW YORK CITY,
March 4 – The
US Treasury
Department is
the next stage
of a process
to try to
weaken and
take the
community out
of the 1977
Community
Reinvestment
Act. Docket
file here.
The
protagonist,
akin to Scott
Pruitt when he
was at the US
Environmental
Protection
Agency or Ryan
Zinke at
Interior, is
the Office of
the
Comptroller of
the Currency's
(OCC's) Joseph
Otting. He has
gone beyond
overall
attempts to
underling the
CRA to refusing
public comment on the
type of
business combination
applications on
which comment
has in the past
been accepted
and considered.
Photo here.
In fact, his OCC's
refusal comes
on
application
for which a
public comment
period was
specifically
listed on the
agency's
website. So
Inner City
Press Fair
Finance Watch
has now
written to the
OCC, including
Stephen Lybarger
and Barry
Wides, as
follows:
"Thanks for
emailing this
letter but I
must say,
Inner City
Press / Fair
Finance Watch
it deeply
concerned by,
and hereby
opposes
it.
Heretofore our
comment on
just such
Business
Combination
proposals HAVE
been
considered by
the OCC. If
under
Comptroller
Otting the OCC
is changing
its longtime
practice it
needs to do a
notice and
comment
process under
the APA. This
is
lawless.
In this case,
the proposal
we commented
on
specifically
provides for a
comment
period: Please
retract your
letter and
consider
appropriately
our comment,
or explain in
writing
why.
Please confirm
receipt of
these
requests." Watch
this site. Otting's
OCC in a
February 26, 2019
letter to
Inner City
Press / Fair
Finance Watch
concerning its
timely comment
opposing the
application to
the OCC by
Long
Island-based
Hanover
Community Bank
to acquire
Chinatown
Federal
Savings Bank,
stated that
"the business
combination
application
filed with the
OCC in
connection
with Hanover's
acquisition,
referenced
above, is not
subject
to public
comment."
Photo of
letter here.
This is a
direct attack on
the CRA and on public
participation
more
generally.
Here's from
the Fair
Finance Watch
comment Otting
is refusing to
consider:
"February 18,
2019 Via
e-mail
Office of the
Comptroller of
the Currency
Northeastern
District
Office Acting
Director for
District
Licensing,
Marva V.
Cummings 340
Madison
Avenue, Fifth
Floor New
York, NY
10173-0002
Re: Timely
First Comment
on OCC
2019-NE-Combination-307316,
re
Applications
by Hanover to
acquire
Chinatown FSB
Dear Ms.
Cummings and
others in the
OCC:
This is a
timely first
comment
opposing and
requesting an
extension of
the OCC's
public comment
period on the
Applications
by Hanover to
acquire
Chinatown
FSB.
The applicant
Hanover in the
New York City
MSA in 2017
made 269 home
purchase loans
to Asians --
and NONE to
African
Americans.
Note that
Hanover's CRA
assessment
area includes
The Bronx, and
Brooklyn.
Note that when
Hanover opened
a deposit
taking branch
in NYC, in
Forest Hills,
its press
release said
nothing about
a focus on
Chinese
Americans or
Asians or any
limitations or
restrictions
on lending, here.
Hanover does
not even
appear to
offer any FHA,
FSA/RHS, and
VA
home-purchase
loans. This is
not
acceptable.... The
comment period
should be
extended;
evidentiary
hearings
should be
held; and on
the current
record, the
application
should not be
approved." Then
Otting says, we
don't care, we
won't listen.
Otting, in
order to
hinder Press
coverage of
how many banks
he meets with
by
changing the
OCC's long
standing FOIA
fee waiver
policy, is
saying he will
make it harder
to get CRA information
too. This is
the "new" OCC - see its
letter on new
policies,
below.
Under Otting,
who is throwing
up roadblocks
to the release
of his
calendar under
the Freedom of
Information
Act (see
below), "the
OCC is
instructing
examiners to
investigate
some of the
claims
separately,
rather than
addressing
them within
the
merger-approval
process.
“We require a
certain level
of detail and
specificity in
comments,”
Comptroller of
the Currency
Joseph Otting
said in a
written
statement. 'The
changes ensure
that concerns
are validated
by exam staff
who are best
positioned to
review [their]
merits.'"
This is
a backdoor
safe harbor. Since
98% of banks
are rated
Satisfactory
or Outstanding
(including
those which
later are found
guilty of
discrimination
and redlining),
to discount
comments that
are not
"validated" by
these bogus
and inflated
rating is
regulatory
malpractice.
Perhaps
this is why
Otting is
hiding his
calendar;
perhaps the
WSJ's Lalita
Clozel will dig
further.
As to the
Federal
Reserve, Inner
City Press has
been informed
of a memo by a major
law firm
which has
hired and used
former Fed Legal
Division staff
bragging about
the fast Fed
approvals it
is receiving. We'll
have more on
this - including
on BB&T / Suntrust,
see here.
On
September 12
Fair Finance
Watch (and on
FOIA, Inner
City Press)
commented to
the OCC, here.
On
January 16
Inner City
Press asked
the OCC on the
expedited
basis for
records to
disclose
Otting's
meetings with
the banking
industry and
others.
But in a
letter dated
January 31,
the OCC for
the first time
in years
denied Inner
City Press'
fee waiver
request on
this one
request,
despite the
request using
the same
language as
requests the
OCC has granted
for Inner City
Press
repeatedly.
The only
difference is
the subject of
the FOIA
request:
Otting. This is
an abuse of
power. Inner
City Press has
appealed:
"Inner City
Press is
appealing Mr
Frank Vance's
letter dated
January 31,
2019 which
denies, for
the first time
in years,
Inner City
Press' request
for a fee
waiver -
because the
request
concerns
Comtroller
Otting and his
schedule.
Inner City
Press is a
media that
covers the OCC...
it seeks this
information to
educate the
public about
the operations
of the OCC.
The language
of the fee
waiver request
was the same
as the OCC has
requested
granted - now
suddenly a new
standard is
applied, due
to the subject
matter of the
request. This
is
unacceptable.
The denial
letter doesn't
even inform of
the right to
appeal, and
the request
number is not
listed in our
account -
thereby
blocking
submission of
the appeal. We
are submitting
under the
number of
another of our
2019 requests
on which fee
waiver WAS
granted, on
the same
language. We
ask for
expedited
ruling on this
appeal, and an
explanation."
The OCC has
turned around
to say
it will now
deny FOIA fee
waiver requests
for banks'
merger applications
and CRA plans:
"Good
afternoon Mr.
Lee.
I am writing
to you
regarding your
correspondence
of February
11, 2019, as
it relates to
your January
17, 2019 FOIA
request number
2019-00104.
Although you
request a fee
waiver in
connection
with your FOIA
request, you
do not provide
a sufficient
justification
for the
granting of
the waiver in
either your
January 17 or
your February
11
correspondence.
I understand
that in the
past, the OCC
has granted
you fee
waivers based
on the same or
similar
language used
in your most
recent
request, and
that you may
not have
received an
adequate
explanation as
to why your
recent request
was not being
handled in a
similar manner
as past
requests.
Please be
aware that
going forward,
with respect
to your case
number
2019-00104 and
all other
requests made
by any
requester for
any
information,
the OCC will
only grant fee
waivers on a
case-by case
basis when a
requester has
affirmatively
demonstrated
entitlement to
a fee waiver
in accordance
with the
requirements
of the FOIA at
5 U.S.C.
552(a)(4)(A)(iii).
This approach
is in
accordance
with the FOIA
statute and
DOJ
guidance.
In applicable
guidance, DOJ
has
stated:
“The
Department of
Justice stands
committed to
encouraging
agencies to
waive fees
under the FOIA
whenever the
statutory fee
waiver
standard is
met. By the
same token, of
course,
agencies also
are expected
to respect the
balance drawn
in the
statute,
safeguarding
federal funds
by granting
waivers or
reductions
only where it
is determined
that the
statutory
standard is
satisfied.”
see FOIA
Update, Vol.
VIII, No. 1
(“OIP
Guidance: New
Fee Waiver
Policy
Guidance”)
(emphasis
added).
Moreover, the
OCC’s approach
is consistent
with case law,
which provides
that each fee
waiver request
is considered
on a
case-by-case
basis because
each request
involves
varied
information.
See Media
Access Project
v. FCC, 883
F.2d 1063
(D.C. Cir
1989).
Additionally,
the OCC is not
bound to grant
a fee waiver
to a requester
in a
particular
case just
because it has
granted the
requester
waivers in the
past.
See e.g.,
Judicial Watch
Inc., v. DOJ,
No. 99-2315,
2000 WL
33724693 at
*5
(D.D.C. Aug.
17, 2000);
Judicial
Watch, Inc.,
v. DOJ, No.
97-2089, Slip
op. at 14
(D.D.C. July
14,
1998).
The burden for
establishing
that a fee
waiver is
justified is
on the
requester.
See Friends of
the Coast Fork
v. U.S. Dep’t
of the
Interior, 110
F.3d 53, 55
(9th Cir.
1997).
Thus, in order
for the OCC to
determine
whether your
request meets
the
requirements
for a fee
waiver, you
must
demonstrate
that the OCC’s
disclosure in
response to
your request
meets the
standard set
forth in
Section
552(a)(4)(A)(iii).
You may wish
to consult
DOJ’s guidance
at
https://www.justice.gov/oip/blog/foia-update-new-fee-waiver-policy-guidance
in formulating
your
justification.
Until these
issues are
resolved with
respect to
your fee
waiver, the
clock is
stopped on
your FOIA
request.
Best
Regards,
Kristin
Merritt
Kristin
Merritt
Special
Counsel
Administrative
& Internal
Law
Office of the
Comptroller of
the
Currency
400 7th St.,
S.W.
Washington,
D.C.
20219."
We'll have
more on this.
And
here's
the request
the OCC is delaying
on:
"Dear
OCC FOIA Officer: Inner City
Press / Fair Finance Watch
(ICP) makes this request for
records pursuant to the
Freedom of Information Act
(“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and
OCC regulations. ICP requests
copies of records sufficient
to show all of Comptroller
Otting's scheduled meetings,
appointments, and scheduled
events from the date he became
Comptroller to the date of
your response including but
not limited to Outlook
calendar entries and daily
briefing books for Comptroller
Otting on those dates... ICP
requests that you expedite the
processing of this request.
There is media interest and
there exist possible questions
concerning the OCC's
integrity, which affect public
confidence. See e.g. this
article and the CRA ANPR
since." We'll have more on
this. Otting's OneWest
colleague and now boss, US
Treasury Department Steve
Mnuchin on December 22 from
Cabo called six big US banks:
"Brian Moynihan, Bank of
America; Michael Corbat, Citi;
David Solomon, Goldman Sachs;
Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase,
James Gorman, Morgan Stanley;
Tim Sloan, Wells Fargo. The
CEOs confirmed that they have
ample liquidity available for
lending to consumer, business
markets, and all other market
operations. He also confirmed
that they have not experienced
any clearance or margin issues
and that the markets continue
to function properly.
Tomorrow, the Secretary will
convene a call with the
President’s Working Group on
financial markets, which he
chairs. This includes the
Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, the
Securities and Exchange
Commission, and the
Commodities Futures Trading
Commission. He has also
invited the office of the
Comptroller of the Currency."
That's Joseph Otting, with
whom Mnuchin worked at and on
selling OneWest Bank to CIT
Group, complete with falsified
pro-merger comments Inner City
Press reported on. Otting's
OCC is in a process to try to
weaken and take the community
out of the 1977 Community
Reinvestment Act. Docket file
here.
The protagonist, akin to Scott
Pruitt when he was at the US
Environmental Protection
Agency, is Comptroller of the
Current Joseph Otting. On
September 12 Fair Finance
Watch (and on FOIA, Inner City
Press) commented to the OCC, here.
At the November 19 deadline,
not (yet) posted was Inner
City Press' November 17 fourth
comment, just as Otting's OCC
absurdly waited 13 days to try
to rule it does not have to
consider Fair Finance Watch's
comments on WSFS Bank. But
Inner City Press has timely
protested WSFS to the Federal
Reserve - and has now found
out that WSFS is even trying
to withhold its CRA
information from the public,
photo
here. So Inner City
Press has submitted this
Freedom of Information Act
request: "
This is a FOIA request for the
all withheld portions of the
applications by WSFS to
acquire Beneficial, including
but not limited to
presumptively mis-labeled
“Confidential” exhibits about
WSFS's CRA program
(“Confidential” Exhibit 9),
(Beneficial's subsidiaries
(“Confidential” Exhibit 3),
Board of Directors
resolutions, due diligence
(“Confidential” Exhibit 10),
operating economy / cost
savings (there are branch
closings projected), names of
prospective managers (ages,
requested on application,
apparently not provided), and
for all records reflecting FRS
communications with WSFS or
Beneficial or their affiliates
for the past twelve (12)
months." A fifth comment
submitted including that "the
OCC is already undermining
CRA. Our comments to the OCC
on WSFS - Beneficial have yet
to be acted on. That comment
was submitted on November 6.
Now on November 19, two weeks
later, the OCC has tellingly
said it will not consider it -
despite a Federal Reserve
Board comment period on the
same transaction remaining
open until at least November
27. The OCC's attempt to
ignore substantive criticism
of some banks' performance,
while Comptroller Otting
previously solicited false
comments support his OneWest
Bank, are a symbol all what is
wrong with this process, and
today's OCC.
While if the past
is any guide the OCC will
forwarded ICP's comment to the
FRB by the FRB, we note in
this connection that WSFS'
comments on the ANPR favor, as
Otting clearly does, dulling
the LMI focus of CRA to make
it easier for banks. We
oppose all of this.
Since October 11
the OCC has denied expedited
process to our FOIA request(s)
for records essential in order
to comment on this proposal.
OCC Deputy Chief Counsel
Charles Steele on November 7
wrote on that “merger between
One West Bank and CIT Bank.
You do not demonstrate how
your request concerns a matter
of current exigency to the
American public or how a delay
in the OCC's response to your
request would compromise a
significant recognized
interest.” Now Inner City
Press has submitted an
unquestionably timely comment
to the Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadephia, with more for
example that "In the Salisbury
MD-DE MSA in 2017, WSFS for
conventional home purchase
loans based on its outreach
got two applications from
African Americans - and denied
them both. It got two from
Latinos and denied. From
whites it approve seven of ten
applications." And see below.
Given the false commenting
issues in the OneWest - CIT
proceeding, and the importance
of CRA to our communities,
this denial is insulting and
further makes this ANPR
commenting process, ostensibly
closing now on November 19,
illegitimate." Among
them, as reviewed by Inner
City Press: Fulton
Financial, on
which ICP has
previously
comment,
perhaps
understandably
given its
lending record
urges
“De-couple CRA
from Fair
Lending... CRA
and Fair
Lending have
complementary
but different
social and
policy
objectives.
CRA ratings
should not be
downgraded
based on the
results of a
bank's fair
lending
performance
and exam
results.” FFW
disagrees:
racial
discrimination
in lending
means a bank
is NOT meeting
the credit
needs of its
entire
community.
The ABA writes
that “'needs
to improve'
CRA rating and
should clarify
that such a
rating will
not be a de
facto bar to
opening new
branches or
engaging in
other
activities
requiring
regulatory
approval.” FFW
disagrees: a
bank with a
rare NTI (or
Substantial
Non-compliance)
record should
be barred from
merging or
expanding.
This is the
enforcement
mechanism of
CRA.
Th Association
of Military
Banks of
America urges,
“Because the
financial
challenges
military
communities
face are less
dependent on
income
distinctions
than in
geographically-defined
communities,
we recommend
that all
financial
services to
the military
community
should be
presumed to
qualify for
CRA credit,
regardless of
whether the
recipient fits
within a
classic LMI
category.” FFW
disagrees with
this blurring
of the lines.
Loans to five
star generals
are not CRA
loans.
Heartland Tri
State Bank
says “Any bank
with assets
less than One
Billion
Dollars should
not be subject
to CRA
examinations.”
FFW disagrees,
precisely
because such
banks play (or
don't play)
such a role in
the economies
of some
communities.
Meanwhile the
OCC is already
undermining
CRA.
The OCC has denied expedited
process to our FOIA request(s)
for records essential in order
to comment on this proposal.
OCC Deputy Chief Counsel
Charles Steele on November 7
wrote on that “merger between
One West Bank and CIT Bank.
You do not demonstrate how
your request concerns a matter
of current exigency to the
American public or how a delay
in the OCC's response to your
request would compromise a
significant recognized
interest.” Given the false
commenting issues in the
OneWest - CIT proceeding, and
the importance of CRA to our
communities, this denial is
insulting and further makes
this ANPR commenting process,
ostensibly closing on November
19, illegitimate, we contend -
while joining in NCRC's
comments, see below. On
November 6 at 5 pm, before any
midterm elections results came
in, Fair Finance Watch filed
comments at deadline with
Otting's OCC, on Wilmington
Savings Fund Society (WSFS)
Bank's application to acquire
Beneficial Bank in
Philadelphia and closed 30
branches, despite WSFS'
disparate lending record:
"This is a timely first
comment opposing and
requesting an extension of the
OCC's public comment period on
the Application by WSFS Bank
to Acquire Beneficial Bank. In
the the Wilmington MSA in
2017, WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND
SOCIETY, FSB (WSFS Bank) had a
denial rate for the home
purchase loan applications of
African Americans that was
5.48 times higher than for
whites - an outrage,
significantly more disparate
that other banks in the
market. For Latinos, WSFS Bank
was and is worse, with a
denial rate for home purchase
loans 7.43 times higher for
Latinos than for whites.
This is not a
lending record and pattern to
impose on Philadelphia. And
consider this: if approved,
WSFS “plans to close 30 WSFS
and Beneficial Bank offices, a
quarter."
See, “WSFS bosses
Mark Turner and Rodger
Levenson plan to close 30 of
the combined companies’ 120
branches and eliminate around
350 of their 2,100 jobs.”
There is more to
say, and there are more
markets. But concerned as we
are about the OCC seeming to
take outrageous disparities
even less seriously than
before, we ar timely
submitting this one, for your
action. This is systematic
redlining; this proposed
acquisition could not
legitimately be approved and
WSFS Bank should be referred
for prosecution for redlining
by the Department of Justice
and the CFPB. But will today's
OCC do it? The branch closings
provides a second ground for
the requested evidentiary
hearing." What will Otting's
OCC do? On October 17, yet
more on Otting's assault on
the CRA became known. He has
taken to devaluing or lumping
together and not putting in
the docket or online the
comments of community groups,
calling them mass comments or
form letters - when he himself
not only solicited mass
comments for the OneWest - CIT
merger from which he
personally profited, but even
got some fraudulent comments.
Inner City
Press / Fair
Finance Watch
submitted
the documents
obtained under
FOIA into the
record
before the OCC. Now,
on a ten day
delay, the OCC
has put into the file
a cursory
memo of its
October 12
meeting with
bankers ranging
from Citigroup
(Lloyd Brown and Devika
Murray
Bacchus), Capital
One (James
Matthews), TIAA and
Regions to Wells Fargo,
Fifth Third, Huntington
and PNC, among
others.
This has the
trappings of
transparency,
but none of
the substance.
Topics of discussion
are
purportedly
listed - but
what was said,
particularly
by the OCC
participants:
Grovetta
Gardineer,
Senior Deputy
Comptroller
for Compliance
and Community
Affairs
Beverly Cole,
Deputy
Comptroller
for
Compliance
Supervision
Donna Murphy,
Deputy
Comptroller
for
Compliance
Risk Policy
Allison
Hester-Haddad,
Counsel, Chief
Counsel’s
Office
Daniel
Sufranski, Law
Clerk, Chief
Counsel’s
Office. Listed
but without
further detail
is, for
example,
"Logistical
issues,
including the
interrelated
nature of the
issues raised
by the ANPR, the
timing of the
rulemaking
process,
participation
by the other
federal
banking
agencies, and
whether
concepts not
discussed in
the ANPR would
remain under a new
rule." So
what was said?
And where is the
OCC's response
to Inner City
Press'
previous FOIA
request? We
will have more
on this.
Inner
City Press has
previously
commented that
"These
documents,
which must be
considered as
part of this
ANPR and any
subsequent
formal
rulemaking,
show that
fraudulent
comments
supporting
Otting's
OneWest were
submitted to
the OCC -
presumptively
attributable
to Otting.
The documents
show that the
OCC sought an
explanation
from Otting's
/ OneWest's
outside
counsel - and
the OCC's and
Justice
Department's
response to
date reflect
that no such
explanation
was ever
provided. The
OCC
nevertheless
approved the
merger and
even gave
weight to the
fraudulent
comments.
But via the
OCC and Regulations.gov
websites, we
are told "This
count refers
to the total
comment /
submissions
received on
this document,
as of 11:59 PM
yesterday.
Note: Agencies
review all
submissions,
however some
agencies may
choose to
redact, or
withhold,
certain
submissions
(or portions
thereof) such
as those
containing
private or
proprietary
information,
inappropriate
language, or
duplicate/near
duplicate
examples of a
mass-mail
campaign. This
can result in
discrepancies
between this
count and
those
displayed when
conducting
searches on
the Public
Submission
document
type." At
least ten
comments, all
under the name
Ceiba, were bundled
as one. Otting
is trying to
have it both
ways, or
worse. Under
him, the OCC has ignored the
rare racial redlining
settlement by Klein Bank,
rubber stamping Old National's
acquisition of the bank over
the timely and detailed
objection and public hearing
request of Fair Finance Watch.
Otting doesn't like public
hearings. In April 2018
his OCC approved
an application by E-Trade
Saving Bank which Fair Finance
Watch had challenged
based on the bank having
no fewer than six states rare
"Needs to Improve" CRA
ratings. FFW noted
rare Needs to Improve ratings
for the entire states of
Arizona, Colorado, Florida,
Georgia, Michigan and Oregon,
and an undeserved
“Satisfactory” for New York.
Otting's OCC, after the
approval, helpfully contacted
E-Trade Bank to tell it that
upon (Otting's) reflection, it
was no longer even subject to
the Community Reinvestment
Act. Another institution was
similarly contacted - the OCC
under Otting is going through
its roster of banks seeing
which ones it can "free" from
CRA even if they hadn't
requested in. In one case,
some in the bank still didn't
want Otting's freedom and move
more business into the bank to
get a second reversal of
Otting's orders. But it shows
where Otting is coming from,
beyond the unexplained
comment-fraud for which he
should be recused. Inner City
Press on October 11 raised the
E-Trade (and another bank)
issue into the record on the
Advanced Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking. But, Otting being
Otting, his OCC denied
expedited processing for Inner
City Press' Freedom of
Information Act request bout
his deregulation move, ruling
that "You requested all
records in the OCC's
possession concerning the
applicability of the Community
Reinvestment Act to - or
exemption there from - any
affiliate of E-Trade or Bank
of America California NA for
the time period of October 11,
2016 to October 11, 2018. You
also requested expedited
processing of your request on
the basis that the ANPR on CRA
is open through November 19,
2018. Your request for
expedited processing does not
meet the criteria provided for
in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(E) and
Treasury disclosure
regulations at 31 C.F.R.
1.5(e)." And that
regulation... requires a
formal certification. So Inner
City Press has appealed: "As
a a person primarily
engaged in disseminating
information, I am appealing
the denial of expedited
processing of my FOIA request,
summarized by the OCC as for
all records in the OCC's
possession concerning the
applicability of the Community
Reinvestment Act to - or
exemption there from - any
affiliate of E-Trade or Bank
of America California NA for
the time period of October 11,
2016 to October 11, 2018.
...The OCC under Joseph
Otting's actions to try to
find banks to exempt from CRA
outrageous and something on
which there is an
urgency to inform the public
concerning actual or alleged
Federal Government activity.
As noted in my request, this
is particularly the case given
the OCC's unilateral moves
regarding the CRA. I declare
under penalty of perjury that
the foregoing is true and
correct to the best of my
knowledge and belief. Executed
on October 16, 2018." Watch
this site. Many more are
resisting Otting, but Federal
Reserve Bank of Cleveland
President Loretta J. Mester on
October 3 said
that "the OCC, a part of
Treasury, has put out an
advance notice of proposed
rule-making (ANPR) seeking
comment on ways to modernize
the CRA regulations. The
Federal Reserve is also
undertaking efforts aimed at
ensuring that the CRA
regulations continue to meet
the goals of the legislation
amid the evolving financial
services environment" - with
these as her footnotes for
that: "Brainard, Lael,
“Community Development in
Baltimore and A Few
Observations on Community
Reinvestment Act
Modernization,” Baltimore,
Maryland, April 17, 2018a
and Brainard, Lael, “Keeping
Community at the Heart of the
Community Reinvestment Act,”
New York, NY, May 18, 2018b.
Both of those Brainard
speeches were before Otting's
proposals. And since? Well,
the Fed after comments from
FFW and NCRC has asked
Synovus, "Synovus Bank
received a “Needs to Improve”
rating in the Tennessee state
assessment area for the
service test. Describe how
Synovus Financial is
addressing, or has addressed,
this rating." That's on its
now protested application to
the Fed to acquire FCB
Financial Holdings, Inc. (“FCB
Financial Holdings”) and
thereby indirectly acquire
Florida Community Bank, N.A.
In the OCC's ANPR docket file
is the President of
First National Bank &
Trust in Elk City, Oklahoma
who writes, "I firmly believe
that this form of oversite was
meant for metropolitan areas
and banks with multiple
branches. There’s got to be a
better way of monitoring and
locating those banks that
aren’t helping the population
it serves. I would be
surprised to find there are
very many banks that fail the
CRA examination." It's called
grade inflation. On September
29 The
Intercept has dug into
it, citing FFW's formal
request that Otting recuse
himself - and so here
now are some of the Freedom of
Information Act documents. On
October 2 in the Senate
Banking Committee, Otting
insisted he is not trying to
weaken the CRA; he called the
ANPR an "Advanced Notice of
Public Rulemaking" instead of
Proposed. He said he met with
1100 individuals - still
undisclosed - and expects five
to ten thousand comments on
the ANPR. (So far there are 33
listed but only 29 visible).
Senator Sherrod Brown began by
asking him indirectly about
the blogs at CFPB of Eric
Blankenstein. We'll have more
on this. And this - as
obtained by Inner City Press
and fellow NCRC
member CRC, here are more
of the documents, for
(this time) free download on Patreon.
On October
1 Inner City Press / Fair
Finance Watch
submitted the documents
obtained under FOIA into the record
before the OCC, stating that
"These documents, which must
be considered as part of this
ANPR and any subsequent formal
rulemaking, show that
fraudulent comments supporting
Otting's OneWest were
submitted to the OCC -
presumptively attributable to
Otting.
The documents show that the
OCC sought an explanation from
Otting's / OneWest's outside
counsel - and the OCC's and
Justice Department's response
to date reflect that no such
explanation was ever provided.
The OCC nevertheless approved
the merger and even gave
weight to the fraudulent
comments. On this record we
again insist that Otting be
recused from this ANPR and any
related rulemaking or
proceedings. We have other
substantive concerns about
this ANPR but view the
question of Mr Otting's
recusal (and of with whom he
has met, on which Inner City
Press has another long-pending
FOIA request) as threshold
matter than must be addressed
as quickly as possible."
The FOIA
document as provided by the
OCC and US Department of
Justice reflect that the OCC
never followed up on its lone
(and wan) question to Otting's
counsel as Sullivan &
Cromwell to explain the
fraudulent comments. Nor did
this counsel respond to
questions from The Intercept's
David Dayen, who reports:
"AFTER A YEARLONG effort to
obtain the information, which
included ongoing litigation,
the OCC made available 15
pages. They contain emails to
and from David Finnegan, an
OCC senior licensing analyst
who was a point of contact for
public comment on the merger.
Four individuals contended in
emails to Finnegan that they
never sent the comment letters
supporting the merger. “This
is to bring to your attention
that I received an email from
the office of OCC regarding a
subject I am completely
unaware of,” wrote one
individual (the OCC redacted
the emailers’ identifying
information). “I DID NOT send
the email below that you
responded to. This is a
fraudulent use of my email
account.” The other three sent
similar complaints.
The letter of support
attributed to these
individuals was identical to
the letter posted at the
OneWest Bank website.
Matthew Lee of Inner City
Press expressed outrage at the
fake comments. “There’s
nothing more offensive of
speech rights than
artificially presenting
someone as saying something
you don’t believe,” Lee said.
“You have the right to be
silent. It’s so beyond the
pale.”
FOIA
Finds: OneWest CIT Ban... by on
Scribd
Finnegan responded to these emailers,
thanking them for letting him know. He
also sent two emails to Stephen Salley,
an attorney with Sullivan &
Cromwell, who was representing OneWest
in the merger. “FYI and review. We would
appreciate any information you can
provide regarding this submission,”
Finnegan wrote to Salley on both
occasions.
Presumably, Finnegan reached out to
OneWest’s lawyer about the fake comments
because they featured the same form
letter that OneWest had written to
encourage public support. But the two
emails are the only record that OCC did
any investigation of the fake comments.
There is no reply from Salley or
Sullivan & Cromwell to the OCC, at
least not in written form. “By reaching
out to the attorneys immediately, it
suggests something serious, and yet
there’s no follow-up that’s apparent
whatsoever,” said Kevin Stein of the
California Reinvestment
Coalition...Olivia Weiss, a spokesperson
for CIT, forwarded a request for comment
to her colleague Gina Proia, who
declined to comment. Salley did not
respond when asked whether he or his law
firm responded to the OCC....In his
public comment for Inner City Press, Lee
asked for Otting to recuse himself from
the new rule-making, highlighting the
fake comment controversy. “Public
participation is key to CRA, on
performance evaluations and crucially on
bank merger and expansion applications,”
Lee wrote. He added that it’s unclear
whether the OCC has improved its
processes to prevent fake comments from
being submitted again in the CRA
rule-making.
And
now Otting simply refuses to consider
public comments on the takeover of a
bank in Chinatown.
***
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