| FirstSun Bid
for First Foundation After
Failure of Last Merger Leads
to CRA Challenge to Fed
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SOUTH
BRONX/Federal
Court,
Dec 5 – A proposed
acquisition by FirstSun, whose
merger bid failed, of First
Foundation has given risen to
a challenge under the
Community Reinvestment Act.
On
December 5 Fair Finance Watch,
reviewing Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act data of 2022
and 2024, filed a CRA
challenge to the merger with
the Federal Reserve Board:
This is
opposition the Applications of
FirstSun Capital Bancorp,
Denver, CO (& Dallas TX)
to merge with First
Foundation, Inc., Irving,
Texas, and thereby indirectly
acquire First Foundation
Bank.
FirstSun's flagship Sunflower
Bank, in Texas in 2024, made
401 mortgage loans to whites,
and only 46 to African
Americans. Meanwhile it denied
12 applications from African
Americans, and only 36 from
whites.
This is
disparate, and more disparate
both than the aggregate in
Texas.
Nationwide in 2022, Sunflower
Bank made 2248 mortgage loans
to whites, and only 104 to
African Americans. Meanwhile
it denied 24 applications from
African Americans, and only
162 from whites.
FirstSun's record has grown
even worse than in 2022, which
Fair Finance Watch analyzed in
commenting against FirstSun's
ill-fated Home Street
proposal. Now, First
Foundation is not only
"unloved" - it has had massive
CRE and other
problems.
For the
record, on managerial
resources and otherwise, note
that this proposal involved a
complex restructuring,
including a $3.4 billion
downsizing plan, which is said
to carry not only community
harm but also execution risk.
The price paid for First
Foundation has also raised
concerns among some
analysts. As with Fifth
Third / Comerica, there has
been a legal inquiry launched
by a class action firm
regarding the merger with
First Foundation.
FFW notes
in the FDIC's pending proposal
RIN 3064-AG10: "the FDIC has
received a limited number of
public comments in response to
subpart C applications....
Therefore, the FDIC is
proposing to eliminate the
public notice and related
public comment period from
subpart C and to make
conforming changes to subpart
A of 12 CFR part 303 of the
FDIC Rules."
See, e.g., Sept
10, 2025: https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/the-fdic-is-undercutting-a-key-element-of-the-cra
But now the
Federal regulator(s) blithely
propose(s) to eliminate public
notice and public comment on
banks' proposals to
expand. The above-quoted
reasoning is that few comments
are filed. So, that is now
changing.
Watch this site
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