Welcome to Inner City Press’ Bank Beat. We aim to scrutinize the industry, from high to low. Our other Reporters cover Community Reinvestment, the Federal Reserve, and other beats. ICP has published a (double) book about the Bank Beat-relevant topic of predatory lending - click here for sample chapters, an interactive map, and ordering information. The Washington Post of March 15, 2004, calls Predatory Bender: America in the Aughts "the first novel about predatory lending;" the London Times of April 15, 2004, "A Novel Approach," said it "has a cast of colorful characters." See also, "City Lit: Roman a Klepto [Review of 'Predatory Bender']," by Matt Pacenza, City Limits, Sept.-Oct. 2004. The Pittsburgh City Paper says the 100-page afterword makes the "indispensable point that predatory lending is now being aggressively exported to the rest of the globe." Click here for that review; click here to Search This Site. Click here for Inner City Press' weekday news reports, from the United Nations and elsewhere, which include bank-related topics.
Click here for Inner City Press' weekday news reports, from the United Nations and elsewhere. Click here for a recent BBC piece on Inner City Press' reporting from the United Nations. New: Follow us on TWITTER BloggingHeads.tv Click for March 1, 2011 BloggingHeads.tv re Libya, Sri Lanka, UN Corruption by Inner City Press. Until next time, for or with more information, contact us.
January
18, 2021
Capital One Money Laundering Gets $390M Fine From FinCEN As PNC Is Sued For Usury
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Jan 15 – Capital One has been fined
$390 million by FinCEN, for anti-money
laundering violations. This comes on top of
predatory lending, on autos and otherwise.
Inner City Press and Fair Finance Watch will
have more on this.
Meanwhile,
PNC Bank and its Midland Loan Services have been
sued for usury, predatory lending and civil
conspiracy, under New York and Federal
law.
The
complaint docketed on December 29 in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New
York, which Inner City Press covers, describes
PNC's lending on a number of homes and allegedly
racking up $250 charges.
It
questions the reporting on line 205 of the HUD
statement. When the plaintiff questioned it, he
was called an "assh*ole."
The
case is filed while PNC seeks to buy the US
retail banking business of BBVA for $16 billion,
an application to the Federal Reserve Board and
other regulators which is subject to the
Community Reinvestment Act.
The case is Barli v. PNC Bank, NA et al., 20-cv-11027 (Castel)
***
January
11, 2021
IMF Is Asked Of China Belt and Road By Inner City Press and Cites Transparency Video Here
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Video
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Jan 8 – When the
International Monetary Fund held a press
briefing about China and its Article IV review,
on January 8, Inner City Press posed a question
and got an answer, below.
Inner
City Press asked the IMF's Helge Berger, Mission
Chief, about China's so-called Belt and Road
Initiative: "Your Article IV report cites
China's "overseas lending projects" amid "rising
geopolitical tensions and economic and trade
frictions." How does the IMF think that rising
debt levels among African countries, and
increased skepticism about the "Belt and Road"
will impact or be addressed going forward?
-Matthew Russell Lee, Inner City Press. Video here.
Berger
responded about
the IMF's work to provide
lower income countries "breathing
space."
He said while the
IMF generally
welcomes the BRI it
stresses
the need for
transparency,
where the money
is going.
(An aside: Inner
City Press has
reported on
the CEFC China
Energy Fund
Committee's
activities in
Chad and
Uganda and in
the UN, on
which the UN is
UNresponsive.)
January
4, 2021
PNC Bank Is Sued In NY For Usury As Applies For BBVA Under CRA So Conference March 1
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Dec 30 – PNC Bank and its Midland
Loan Services have been sued for usury,
predatory lending and civil conspiracy, under
New York and Federal law.
The
complaint docketed on December 29 in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New
York, which Inner City Press covers, describes
PNC's lending on a number of homes and allegedly
racking up $250 charges.
It
questions the reporting on line 205 of the HUD
statement. When the plaintiff questioned it, he
was called an "assh*ole."
The
case is filed while PNC seeks to buy the US
retail banking business of BBVA for $16 billion,
an application to the Federal Reserve Board and
other regulators which is subject to the
Community Reinvestment Act.
Now
on December 30 the case has been assigned to
SDNY District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who has
ordered: "ORDER INITIAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE:
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF (OR THE REMOVING
DEFENDANT) SHALL IMMEDIATELY SEND A COPY OF THIS
ORDER TO ALL PARTIES. Counsel for all parties
shall appear for an Initial Pretrial Conference,
held pursuant to Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure, March 1, 2021 at 12:00 p.m.
Principal trial counsel shall appear at this and
all subsequent conferences. SO ORDERED. Initial
Conference set for 3/1/2021 at 12:00 PM before
Judge P. Kevin Castel. (Signed by Judge P. Kevin
Castel on 12/30/2020)."
The case is Barli v. PNC Bank, NA et al., 20-cv-11027 (Castel)
***
December
28, 2020
Stefan Qin Accounts At CoinBase and Kraken Are Frozen by Ex Parte SDNY Order for SEC
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Dec 23 – An asset freeze
against Stefan Qin's Sigma Fund was sought and
obtained by the U.S. Security and Exchange
Commission at 7 pm on December 23.
No
defense lawyer was present.
Inner
City Press covered and live tweeted it, here:
(and added more on Patreon here)
It's
7 pm and the SEC has gotten an ex parte hearing
to freeze accounts, before U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of New York Judge
Lorna G. Schofield.
"Qin,
Virgil Capital & Sigma Fund 'held millions
worth of digital assets at 39 trading
platforms." SEC lawyer Susan Lamarca said
she spoke with defendant's lawyer, who said they
would only appear if required.
SEC:
"This is ex parte, to freeze assets."
SEC:
"Qin is a citizen and resident of Australia and
part-time resident of New York. He is currently
believed to be in Seoul, South Korea and owns
these LLCs through Virgil Technologies LLC,
domiciled in the Cayman Islands."
SEC:
"Qin claims to use a proprietary trading
algorithm for the Sigma Fund to generate better
returns that an investment in Bitcoin." SEC
asks: "defendants to disgorge their ill-gotten
gains according to proof, plus perjudgment
interest thereon."
SEC
lawyer says the assets are in CoinBase and
Kraken, who are temporarily maintaining a
compliance hold. But it could end anytime. "It
won't last long."
SEC:
we spoke with both platforms. They agreed to
maintain the hold for a couple of days.
Now
Qin knows
SEC
lawyer: we've spoken with a lawyer who
represents Qin in another investigation. We
reached out to him. Judge Schofield: I am
prepared to enter the temporary restraining
order and freeze the assets of the entity
defendants, and a document preservation order
Judge
Schofield: I would not put the account numbers
in a public order. Should I put it in a sealed
appendix?
SEC
lawyer: You do not need to put it in an order.
We may found other accounts. Numbers are not
necessary at all.
More on Patreon here.
***
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December
21, 2020
In Citibank Wire Transfer Case Judge Furman Hopes Industry Learns From Black Swan Event
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Song
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Dec 16 – As Citibank tries to recoup
the money it wired out on August 11, 2020, the
virtual / Zoom trial began on December 9 before
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
New York. Inner City Press is covering it.
Here
for now some of the Day 1 blow by blow.
And
Day 2 documents / Defendants exhibits zipped on
Patreon here,
one on DocumentCloud here,
saying "Please retain the funds received 8/11
into Battalion CLO VIII Ltd. on account of the
Revlon Term Loan 2016 pending further
instruction. Please do not book, and carry the
funds as a cash break for the time being."
Hear,
for now, this song.
On Day
6 and last, there were closing arguments
and questions, and this: Judge Furman begin with
questions about the Banque Worms decision.
There's some talk about getting a phone charger.
Counsel classily presses on. It's not easy being
a court reporter. Judge Furman: Page 47 of
Plaintiff's brief argues the District Court
erred...
Closing
arguments still going. Lot of talk of imputed
knowledge; Judge Furman asks if there's any
excited utterance showing the defendants knew
something was wrong, even before Citibank
notified them. Judge Furman also asks why
Citibank didn't get a grace period
OK
- it's over. Judge Furman: It was a well-tried
case, but I hope the industry finds a better way
of dealing with this, even if it was a black
swan event. I will get you a decision as quickly
as I can.
Note:
the defendants, after Saturday December 12,
stopped sending any of their exhibits. Watch
this site.
Day 5, the evidence wrapped up - but again
exhibits were withheld despite request(s). Some
of it:
Q:
the official books of those investors would be
in one place, and what Symphony had was the
shadow books, correct? A: You could say that,
yeah. Q: Is there any specific segregation you
could identify?
A:
State Street, P zero. Bromton, P zero. CLO, T
plus one.
Judge
Furman: Could you explain? A: T plus zero, same
day. T plus one, we can do it from the day
prior. Now, questions about exhibits still
withheld from Press.
After
long re-direct of Vaughan, now on the stand is
Eric Lee of Symphony. Citibank's lawyer: You're
on West Coast time, so thanks for getting up
early. Are you familiar with pre-payment
notices? A: Yes.
Judge
Furman tells the lawyers he has gotten a letter
on subject matter jurisdiction issues but not
reviewed it yet; he'll tell them if he gets any
thoughts from it. Also, he's gone back to look
at transcript of final pre-trial conference
& will allow Citi experts
And
that's it - the evidence is over Citibank closed
with an hour and two minutes left; defendants
with an hour and 15 minutes left. Closing
arguments tomorrow morning.
Now
Judge Furman is telling counsel what he'd like
to hearing about tomorrow, on "the timing
question" -- he cites a Judge Patterson
decision, Banque Worms' commentary on finality -
when each defendant found out about the
payments.
December
14, 2020
At Citibank Wire Transfer Trial Waiver Question As Defendant Docs Says Retain the Funds Here
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Dec 11 – As Citibank tries to
recoup the money it wired out on August 11,
2020, the virtual / Zoom trial began on December
9 before U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of New York. Inner City Press is
covering it.
Here
for now some of the Day 1 blow by blow.
And
Day 2 documents / Defendants exhibits zipped on
Patreon here,
one on DocumentCloud here,
saying "Please retain the funds received 8/11
into Battalion CLO VIII Ltd. on account of the
Revlon Term Loan 2016 pending further
instruction. Please do not book, and carry the
funds as a cash break for the time being."
On
Day 3, after discussion of springing maturity,
it got to this: whether the defendants had
waived privilege by excusing their refusal to
return the money as being based on legal advise,
including from at least out outside law firm.
Judge Furman ended the trial at noon, setting a
Monday 7 pm deadline for some filings and musing
that closing arguments might be Tuesday
afternoon. Here's some of the day:
Witness:
"There's nothing that prevents me from playing
in the NBA, but it's not going to happen." Judge
Furman: Is there a question? Inner City
Press heading to courthouse. Today's Citibank
trial only goes until noon.
Lengthy
Zoom sidebar on the issue of whether Brigade
witness waived privilege by talking about legal
advice that Brigade didn't have to pay the money
back.
Citibank
wire transfer trial is suspended until Monday 9
am. More exhibits admitted this morning
On
Day 2, Brigade's Jeff Frusciante described his
morning of August 12, 2020, working from home in
Connecticut. He said he could not remember how
he communicated about the Citibank wire
transfer; he was asked about Brigade's document
retention policy.
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SOUTH
BRONX, SDNY, Dec 11 – How pro-bank has the FDIC
become?
Well,
when Inner City Press submitted a FOIA request
for the absurd redactions by Multi-Bank to its
application for a denovo bank in Florida, the
response was that there will be no review of the
redactions to the application - until the
application is approved.
Also,
the FDIC uses FOIA exemption 8 to say that every
single one of its communications about the
application are exempt. This is a new low; it
and the FDIC, like the OCC and Fed, will have to
change. Inner City Press (and Fair Finance
Watch) requested:
This
is a FOIA request for (all of) the overly
redacted "public" application of Multi-Bank
Application For DeNovo State Bank in Florida.
Inner City Press has seen the redacted version,
which withholdings from the public and press
information about those involved and their
plans. The entire application should be provide,
along with all of the FDIC's communications with
these applicants for the past year (including
for preparation of public comment - it should be
expedited and provided on a rolling basis).
Here
is the FDIC's response of December 11:
This
is in response to your November 29, 2020 Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) request... In general,
the non-confidential portions of an application
for deposit insurance for a de novo bank, an
application to establish a branch, and other
applications are publicly available in the
appropriate FDIC Regional Office until 180 days
following final disposition of the filing... for
access to the public file, please contact: FDIC
Atlanta Regional Office ATTN: RMS Regional
Director 10 10th Street, NE, Suite 800 Atlanta,
GA 30309 Since a FOIA request for these records
is premature under our regulations, we are
administratively closing this portion of your
request.
So
there is no review of redactions. Outrageous
.
Communications Between the FDIC and Applicants
By its very nature, the information that you
requested, if it exists and could be located,
would be information contained in, or related
to, the examination, operating, or condition
reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the
use of the FDIC in its regulation or supervision
of financial institutions. All of that
information, if it exists and could be located,
would be exempt from disclosure in full under
FOIA Exemption 8, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(8).
Therefore, this portion of your request is
denied under Exemption 8
December
7, 2020
Inner City Press Asked IMF of Kenya Mombasa Railroad and Mozambique So Answers Here
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Video
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Dec 3 – When the
International Monetary Fund held its embargoed
media briefing on December 3, Inner City Press
posed questions including on Kenya and
Mozambique, which got answered.
IMF Spokesperson Gerry Rice read out two of
Inner City Press' questions: "On Kenya, the
finance ministry says it is discussing a $2.3
billion lending program with the IMF, including
an initial disbursement of $725 million from IMF
in the first half of 2021. What is the status of
talks and what is the IMF's view of the Standard
Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi has a
budget of a full Sh 327 billion, which some say
indicates that the budget for this project was
padded?"
Rice
said discussion are underway and it should go to
the IMF Board in early 2021. He referred to an
earlier IMF report on the railway - more on that
in transcript,
and video here.
Rice
also read out this, from Inner City Press: "On
Mozambique, what is the impact on the IMF's
approach of the decision by the EU on €100
million in direct support to the State Budget,
with “monitoring and transparency” clauses? Does
the IMF include similar clauses, in Mozambique
and elsewhere?"
November
30, 2020
In Wire Transfers Case Citibank Wants Its Trade Association In As Amicus
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Nov 23 – For the Citibank wire
transfers virtual trial scheduled for December
9, there is a dispute about which technological
platform to use.
On November 9 U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York Judge Jesse M.
Furman held proceeding. Inner City Press covered
it.
Judge Furman has written in advance that he "is
currently conducting a fully remote bench trial
- using TrialGraphix, which is a zoom-based
platform - and it has worked remarkably
well."
Then
Citibank's lawyer John Baughman complained that
the lead defense counsel Michael Carlinksy's
brother is a principal in TrialGraphix, and
Citibank does not want that platform used.
Judge Furman asked the parties to propose to him
other platforms. To his credit he said he'd like
if possible to provide video and not just
telephone access to the press and public. A
YouTube channel was suggested.
On
November 23 Citibank's counsel at Mayer Brown
filed a letter supporting the intervention and
amici of the Loan Syndication and Trading
Association and The Clearing House and Bank
Policy Institute. Why not - "of course, Citibank
is a member of organizations whose members share
interests with Citibank." But eight of the 10
defendants are members of LSTA. Watch this site.
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
-