| First
Busey $1B Bid For CrossFirst Hit by Fair
Finance Watch Now Fed Asks Sealed Question
by
Matthew R. Lee,
Patreon Substack
FEDERAL
COURT, Dec 5 –
In the Midwest, Busey Bank is
trying to move into the Kansas
City area via merger, with a
disparate lending record. Fair
Finance Watch with Inner City
Press on the FOIA has filed a
timely first comment on, the
Applications
Van
Dukeman, First Busey's CEO
called it a "great fit from a
cultural perspective." But
consider Busey Bank's culture
- including contempt for CRA,
its disparate lending
record:
First Busey's
Busey Bank in Illinois in 2023
- data not yet included in any
CRA exam - made 1163 mortgage
loans to whites, and only 772
loans to African Americans.
Meanwhile it denied only 216
applications from whites, and
fully 24 from African
Americans. Busey Bank should
be referred to DOJ.
Busey Bank in
Missouri in 2023 - data not
yet included in any CRA exam -
made 49 mortgage loans to
whites, and only seven loans
to African Americans.
Meanwhile it denied only 21
applications from whites, and
fully eight from African
Americans
Busey Bank in
Indiana in 2023 - data not yet
included in any CRA exam -
made 22 mortgage loans to
whites, and only two loans to
African Americans.
Busey Bank in
Florida in 2023 - data not yet
included in any CRA exam -
made 80 mortgage loans to
whites, and only ONE loan to
an African
American.
Rather than
provide CRA info, First
Busey's Monica L. Bowe,
Executive Vice President &
Chief Risk Officer of First
Busey Corporation - and of the
Risk Management Association-
submitted a letter saying CRA
conditions are never attached
- false, and telling.
Now after
questions Busey's outside
counsel has disclosed that
Busey "has been the target of
multiple law firms’ efforts to
solicit customers via the
internet to bring a mass
arbitration based on overdraft
and NSF fees, specifically
Authorize Positive, Settle
Negative and Representment
fees, both of which Busey Bank
stopped charging in 2022.
Busey Bank first became aware
of these solicitations in
February, 2024.
Representatives of Busey have
spoken with representatives of
some of these law firms and
have received demands for
attorneys’ fees and potential
refunding of certain fees and
Busey management is currently
discussing the path forward
with counsel."
On December the
Federal Reserve cc-ed Inner
City Press on its question to
Busey Bank - but the question
was entirely withheld.
The merger should
be denied. Watch this site.
***
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