| Fulton Financial
Disparities Raised on $243M Deal
now Fed Says Make Branch Closing
Public
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY/SOUTH
BRONX, Jan 15 – As US
bank regulators loosen rules -
including the FDIC moving to
eliminate public comment
altogether on branch expansion
applications - now more big
banks are moving to get
bigger.
So on
December 8 Fair Finance Watch
filed with the Federal Reserve
and the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency -
in advance - against Fulton
Financial's newest merger
proposal:
This concerns the
proposal by Fulton to acquire
and merge with Blue Foundry
This is opposition at the
earliest possible
time.
Fulton Bank NA in Delaware in
2024 made 199 mortgage loans
to whites, and only 24 to
African Americans. Meanwhile
it denied five applications
from African Americans, and
only 68 from
whites.
This is
disparate.
Fulton Bank NA in Pennsylvania
in 2024 made 2381 mortgage
loans to whites, and only 181
to African Americans.
Meanwhile it denied 111
applications from African
Americans, and only 616 from
whites.
Fulton Bank NA in Maryland in
2024 made 373mortgage loans to
whites, and only 132 to
African Americans. Meanwhile
it denied 90 applications from
African Americans, and only 83
from
whites.
Fulton Bank NA in New Jersey
in 2024 made 805 mortgage
loans to whites, and only 33
to African Americans.
Meanwhile it denied 44
applications from African
Americans, and only 359 from
whites.
Fulton Bank NA in Virginia in
2024 made 500 mortgage loans
to whites, and only 79 to
African Americans. Meanwhile
it denied 35 applications from
African Americans, and only 77
from whites.
Now
Fulton wants to buy a
"money-losing" bank in New
Jersey, and take its branch
closing ways there - Fulton
has closed many branches -
here in the past year and a
half, three dozen closings,
etc.
On
January 14 Fulton's outside
law firm sent FFW some
responses to OCC questions
with the OCC did not send to
FFW, unlike other agencies.
FFW / Inner City Press is
immediately FOIA-ing, because
Fulton is withholding not only
branch closings (unlike among
others First Third) but even
its answer to the debanking
questions the OCC is proud of
- here is the FOIA:
"This is a FOIA
request for the withheld
portions of Fulton Bank NA's
January 14, 2026 response to
OCC questions, including but
not limited to Fulton
withholding the entirety of
its answer on branch closings
(contrary to for example Fifth
Third being directed by the
FRB, after an Inner City Press
FOIA request, to disclose the
80 branches it plans to close
in connection with Comerica),
and Fulton's impermissible
withholding of its answer to
this OCC question:
' 17. Please describe the
bank’s record of, and any
policies, procedures and
practices, designed to ensure
fair access to banking
services and avoid engaging in
politicized or unlawful
debanking, in accordance with
the President’s Executive
Order “Guaranteeing Fair
Banking for All Americans,”
including whether the
applicant has, or will,
directly or indirectly,
adversely restrict access to,
or adversely modify the
conditions of, accounts,
loans, or other banking
products or financial services
of any customer or potential
customer on the basis of the
customer's or potential
customer's political or
religious beliefs, or on the
basis of the customer's or
potential customer's lawful
business activities that the
financial service provider
disagrees with or disfavors
for political reasons.'
Response: Please see
Confidential Exhibit I. "
The OCC says its
comment period expires January
15, the day after Fulton gave
its incomplete response. FFW
has asked for an extension -
On January 15,
the Fed told Fulton to make it
branch closing plans public:
"In response to question 3 of
the request for additional
information included in the
Federal Reserve’s application
acknowledgement letter dated
December 23, 2025, the
Applicant’s Additional
Information Response dated
January 7, 2026 (“January AI
Response”), provided a
preliminary update on the
status of Fulton’s
decision-making process
related to potential branch
consolidations or closures.
This information was provided
in a Confidential Exhibit.
Please provide (1) a public
version of the January AI
Response’s Confidential
Exhibit; (2) an update on the
status of Fulton’s
decision-making process
related to branch closures;
and (3) a public version of
your response to this Page 2
of 3 NONCONFIDENTIAL//
EXTERNAL question. If
applicable, as part of your
response, please identify any
branches that are expected to
be closed, consolidated, and
opened as a result of the
proposal. a. In your response,
please include a list of any
branches that are expected to
be closed, consolidated, and
opened in low- or
moderate-income (“LMI”) census
tracts or majority-minority
census tracts (“MMCTs”). b. If
any branches are expected to
be consolidated as a result of
the proposal, please identify
the location of the closest
receiving branch, the distance
between the closing branch and
receiving branch, and whether
the receiving branch would be
located in an LMI census tract
or in an MMCT." And the
OCC? And other Reserve Banks?
Watch this site.
Inner City
Press, which has opposed the
FDIC's moves to close itself
to public scrutiny - American
Banker op-ed here
- will be submitting FOIA
requests on all this. The FDIC
said it will eliminate public
notices because it does not
receive enough public
comments. That is now
changing. Watch this site.
***
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