| PNC Filed Bids for
FirstBank Challenged on CRA Then 5
Allies Suborned To Support
to Fed
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
FEDERAL COURTHOUSE,
Oct 7 – As PNC Bank has grown
it has become more disparate
in its lending. After its CEO
Bill Demchak announced a $4.1
billion proposal to buy
FirstBank and bragged, "We
just effectively bought
Colorado," Fair Finance Watch
prepared an early filing to
the regulators demanding
scrutiny and
hearings.
This takes place
as the regulators, led by the
FDIC, are seeking to eliminate
public notice and limit public
comment. See, e.g., American
Banker, Sept 10, 2025, "The
FDIC is taking the 'community'
out of CRA enforcement," by
Matthew R. Lee, here
On
September 13 Fair Finance
Watch filed challenges with
the Federal Reserve and OCC,
and Inner City Press filed
Freedom of Information Act
requests, see below.
On
September 17 the Federal
Reserve posted notice that PNC
had applied. On September 18
the FRB of Cleveland provided
some of the application - but
all material litigation
against PNC withheld. Inner
City Press immediately
challenged it under FOIA.
The OCC has not
provided notice - but did stop
Inner City Press' FOIA request
seeking to limit the request
to communications with PNC's
counsel. Inner City Press
immediately responded that the
request is not so limited.
On
September 30, after the FRB
granted expedited processing
under FOIA, the OCC denied an
identical request for
expedited processing, trying
to ensure no records during
the public comment period.
Compare OCC
denial of expedited processing
here
to FRB grant of identical
request here
Inner City Press
has appealed.
New issues have
arisen that FFW will raise in
its second comment.
On October 7 the
Fed sent Inner City Press
copies of five letters on the
application - all in support,
all dated October 1,
essentially identical. One
wonders who's behind them.
We'll have more on this.
From the
filings:
Fair
Finance Watch has long been
concerned about PNC.
Fair Finance Watch has
reviewed the just-released
2024 Home Mortgage Disclosure
Act data of PNC, not reviewed
in any Community Reinvestment
Act performance
evaluation.
In state
after state, PNC for African
Americans has (many) more
denials than originations,
while the opposite is true for
white borrows. The pattern is
striking:
In New
York, where PNC recently and
unceremoniously closed a
deposit facility, PNC in 2024
denied 52 applications from
African Americans while making
fewer, only 28 loans - while
it made fully 289 loans to
whites and denied only 252
applications. This follows the
same PNC pattern and is
disparate.
In
Colorado, which PNC CEO's says
the bank has now "effectively
bought," PNC in 2024 denied 12
applications from African
Americans while making only 17
loans - while it made fully
422 loans to whites and denied
only 244 applications. This is
disparate.
In Arizona, where PNC lists 60
branches and now proposes to
further expand, PNC in 2024
denied 15 applications from
African Americans while making
only 22 loans - while it made
fully 796 loans to whites and
denied only 466 applications.
This is disparate.
There are more states.
There are
many more - including
regarding the debanking the
OCC said will now be
considered in connection with
merger and other applications
- to be addressed at the
requested hearings.
Watch this site.
***
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