| Alabama
CB&S Bank Georgia Proposal
Opposed by Fair Finance Watch
Now Fed Qs
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
FEDERAL
COURT,
Jan 28 – Alabama-based
CB&S Bank, which has a
disparate lending record in
the three states it is in, has
applied to the Federal Reserve
and FDIC to buy a bank in
Georgia, Mountain Commerce.
Fair
Finance Watch has opposed it,
in comments filed January 19
with the FDIC, the Federal
Reserve Bank of Altanta and
the Federal Reserve Board
which recently allowed a $7
billion mega-merger to proceed
with no Fed review. From the
comment:
"This is a
first timely comment opposing
the proposal by CBS Banc-Corp.
to acquire TAG Bancshares
Inc., and thereby indirectly
acquire Citizens Bank and
Trust, Inc., both of Trenton,
Georgia. Fair Finance Watch
has been monitoring CBS
Banc-Corp and its CB&S
Bank and finds that in Alabama
in 2024 CB&S Bank made 394
mortgage loans to whites while
denying only 75 applications
from whites, while making only
17 loans to African Americans
and denying fully 14
applications from African
Americans.
This is disparate.
In
Tennessee in 2024 CB&S
Bank made 182 mortgage loans
to whites while denying only
30 applications from whites,
while making only six loans to
African Americans and denying
fully NINE applications from
African Americans - that is,
more than its loans to African
Americans. This is extremely
disparate - this application
should be denied.
Likewise
in Mississippi in 2024
CB&S Bank made 106
mortgage loans to whites while
denying only 19 applications
from whites, while making only
21 loans to African Americans
and denying fully 16
applications from African
Americans - This
again is extremely disparate;
the proposal should be denied
to prevent these patterns from
being imposed on more in
Georgia.
There are extensive consumer
complaints against CB&S
Bank - and the focus should be
on the content of the
complaints, not the platform
they were filed through...."
On January
21 the FDIC sent a redacted
copy of CB&S' application
(even the names of the
"confidential" exhibits are
redacted) - but the Federal
Reserve System had yet to
respond in any way.
Later on January
21, from the Fed: "This letter
is to acknowledge receipt of
your correspondence dated
January 19, 2026, regarding
the Subject application. A
copy of any future
correspondence should be sent
to Applicants counsel’s email
address, which is provided at
the end of this letter." But
there was no email, just
(Applicants’
Counsel) Robert Carothers, Jr.
Partner Jones Walker, LLP 11
North Water Street, Suite 1200
Mobile, Alabama 36602
On January 28,
the Fed asked questions
including: "5. Discuss
CB&S Bank’s current
policies and procedures with
respect to overdraft and
insufficient funds fees.
Include in your discussion
whether any changes are
anticipated with respect to
such fees at the combined
organization.
6. Confirm, if such is the
case, that the combined
organization would offer the
following
loan types to customers of
Citizens Bank:
a. U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Rural
Development Guaranteed Housing
Loan
Program;
b. The “Express Loan Program”
c. “The Relief Program”
7. The November 27, 2023 CRA
Performance Evaluation for
CB&S Bank indicates that
CB&S Bank has installed
interactive teller machines
(“ITMs”) at all of its
branches.
Indicate whether the branches
to be acquired from Citizens
Bank currently have ITMs
and, if not, whether the
combined organization plans to
install ITMs at those
locations
following consummation of the
proposed transaction.
Any information for which you
desire confidential treatment
should be so labeled and
separately bound" - watch this
site.
Watch this site.
***
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