Inner City Reporter's Bank Beat: Mergers, Community Reinvestment Act, Antitrust, Revolving Doors

On CIT - OneWest, it would make for another over $50 billion SIFI bank. Any new SIFI requires particular scrutiny. CIT used to do subprime lending; given OneWest's record, and given CIT's subprime history and joining the SIFI / Too Big To Fail club, public hearings will be needed.

The M&T merger continues to face delays as M&T has had to increase spending to comply with anti-money-laundering guidelines. Earlier this month, M&T said its first-quarter profit fell 16%, on lower mortgage revenue and higher compliance costs.

On Ukraine, IMF Will "Take Stock" Of Keeping In Crimea Data- "Until Recognition"

UNITED NATIONS, May 1 -- The day after the International Monetary Fund announced its $17 billion program for Ukraine, under embargo until 11 am it released its Staff Report and held a media call.

In the Staff Report the IMF says, "It is acknowledged that at this stage the authorities do not have effective control with respect to Crimea for purposes of implementing their economic policies in that territory... Staff will take stock of future developments on this matter that might affect the need and feasibility of presenting Ukraine’s data with or without Crimea."

Inner City Press on the embargoed call asked the IMF's Reza Moghadham what factors the staff will "take stock" of in terms on continuing to include Crimea in Ukraine's data.

Reza Moghadham replied that it is IMF policy to continue to include until their is "international recognition" of the separation. Inner City Press asked, so does the IMF still include Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia's data?

Moghadham said Georgia is not in his division, but that an answer might come. Inner City Press submitted the question in writing last Thursday, as well as asking if Western Sahara is included in Morocco's data by the IMF.

IMF Executive Board Approves 2-Year US$17.01 Billion Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine, US$3.19 Billion for immediate Disbursement

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a two-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Ukraine. The arrangement amounts to SDR 10.976 billion (about US$17.01 billion, 800 percent of quota) and was approved under the Fund's exceptional access policy. The authorities’ economic program supported by the Fund aims to restore macroeconomic stability, strengthen economic governance and transparency, and launch sound and sustainable economic growth, while protecting the most vulnerable.

The approval of the SBA enables the immediate disbursement of SDR 2.058 billion (about US$3.19 billion), with SDR 1.29 billion (about US$2 billion) being allocated to budget support. The second and third disbursements will be based on bi-monthly reviews and performance criteria, and the remainder of the program period will be subject to standard quarterly reviews and performance criteria.

On Ukraine, IMF Defers Most Press Questions While Mission “In Field,” Insiders?

Word in update New York is the AG is looking at Evans bank NA; we looked at 2012 date for the Buffalo MSA:

for home purchase loans, 59 loans to whites, one to an African American applicant, no Latinos.

worse: for refinance loans, 147 loans to whites, NONE to African Americans or Latinos...

for home purchase loans, 71 applications from whites, one from an African American, none from Latinos.

worse: for refinance loans, 185 applications from whites, NONE to African Americans or Latinos...

Rockville - United in Connecticut have disclosed the four branches they would close in the merger they have yet to apply for, here. In this case, the longest distance is slightly over a mile. The companies should be applying to the Federal Reserve Board soon...

Dear Mr. Lee, On your Sri Lanka question: The CHOGM discussed a broad range of issues, as is typical for these meetings. The IMF did not participate or take positions on the issues discussed or outcomes.

Mr. Shinohara’s visit focused on areas specific to the IMF’s mandate – including recent economic outturns, fiscal and monetary policies, structural reforms, and measures that might help to facilitate sustained growth and low inflation.

JP Morgan Chase Gets Asked of Predatory Lending & Even Tony Blair, Cancels Q&A

IMF Says Nothing Is Its Fault in Greece or Pakistan, Ignores Sudan, Defers on Iran

Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch has told the OCC, on the Applications of Republic Bank, NA to acquire assets and liabilities of H&R Block Bank: both institutions have a history of high cost lending to consumers, through tax refund anticipation loans and otherwise.

See, for the record, "Steve Trager: Pending H&R Block bank deal could return Republic Bank to being mega tax refund provider," Insider Louisville, July 11, 2013 http://insiderlouisville.com/news/2013/07/11/republic-bank-buys-h-r-block-after-fdic-makes-it-exit-tax-refund-lending-it-buys-h-r-block-biggest/

Even if Republic denies that headline from its headquarters city, public hearings should be held on what Republic would do with H&R Block's "Emerald Card" program, particularly given its subsidiaries and plans, Republic Prepaid Systems, "an issuing bank to offer general purpose reloadable prepaid debit, payroll, gift and incentive cards through third party program managers" and Republic Credit Solutions, "preparing to pilot short-term consumer credit products through multiple channels.”

Reviewing 2011 HMDA data, the most recent data available (and largely unaddressed in existing CRA performance evaluations and fair lending exams), ICP has examined Republic Bank & Trust Co's refinance and home improvement lending in the Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati MSAs and finds them outrageous.

In the Louisville MSA in 2011 for refinance loans, Republic 40.4% of applications from African Americans, versus on 20% of applications from whites. Its denial rate for Latinos was even higher: 45.5%

For home improvement loans, Republic denied 50% of application from African Americans versus 24.8% of applications from whites. Its denial rate for Latinos was 100%.

In the Cincinnati MSA in 2011, Republic made 27 refinance loans to whites and NONE to African Americans, nor Latinos. It made seven home improvement loans to whites, none to African Americans (denial rate 100%) nor Latinos.

The OCC has responded that the public comment period has been extended to September 11. How appropriate. Watch this site.

We've said Capital One wants to be Number 5 with the monopolist quartet - and now it's in multi-family. "Capital One has a USD296.5 billion portfolio as of year to date. The company is pleased with the acquisition and its influence to the company's market position. Michael Slocum, current President of the lender's Commercial Banking Group, said, "The combination of Capital One's multifamily business and Beech Street will make us a top 5 national multifamily originator." We'll have more on this.

So for $2.3 billion, Pacific Western Bank plans to acquire CapitalSource Bank, eh?

Update: After embargo, this arrived from an IMF spokesperson on Burundi - and on a previously asked Zimbabwe question:

· “The IMF continues to be engaged with Burundi through a three-year financing arrangement aimed at mobilizing domestic revenues, catalyzing donor support and strengthening public financial management.

· In order to keep the program on track in light of recent revenue slippages, the authorities submitted a revised budget to parliament this week. This will provide a framework for continued donor engagement through a series of sectoral conferences related to the implementation of projects in the priority sectors outlined within the authorities’ Poverty Reduction Strategy.

On Zimbabwe, the World Bank's country manager has said that "arrears clearance is the main thing." Does the IMF agree? What is the IMF look for from Zimbabwe?

· Zimbabwe is currently making payments to the Fund (and to the World bank and African Development Bank as well), but the country remains in arrears to the IMF and other multilateral and bilateral creditors

· We agree with the authorities that a comprehensive arrears clearance strategy supported by development partners will be essential for Zimbabwe going forward.

· The IMF supports the Zimbabwean authorities’ efforts to work towards arrears clearance.

Republic Bank & Trust Co. is acquiring most of H&R Block Bank -- that is, a bank known for tax refund loans buying the Emerald Card program. For now: “The agreement, which is subject to regulatory approvals, calls for Republic to acquire $3 million in assets and $470 million in deposits from H&R Block. As a result, Republic would receive an estimated $467 million in cash from H&R Block at closing.” We'll have more on this.

Hedge funds that profited on the way down from the collapses, for example Paulson & Company, the Carlyle Group's Claren Road Asset Management and Perry Capital, are now buying up the preferred shares of Fannie Mae with a eye to taking it private.

As an initial matter, and for the record on this application, ICP submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the FDIC for the whole application and for any and all records reflecting FDIC communications with the applicant about the proposal for the past six months, and asks for an expedited ruling and documents, on which the FDIC has unilaterally extended its time to response until after May 2. The comment period should and must be extended.

Reviewing 2011 HMDA data, the most recent data available (and largely unaddressed in existing CRA performance evaluations and fair lending exams), ICP has examined Renasant's home purchase and refinance lending in the Memphis and Atlanta MSAs and finds both outrageous.

In the Memphis MSA in 2011 for conventional home purchase loans, Renasant made 60 such loans to whites, and only TWO such loans to African Americans, and only ONE to a Hispanic.

For Table 4-1, Renasant made 46 such loans to whites, and only FOUR such loans to African Americans, and only THREE to Hispanics.

Cumulated home purchase lending in this MSA: Renasant made 104 home purchase loans to whites, and only SIX such loans to African Americans, and only FOUR to Hispanics. This is inconsistent with other lenders' demographics of lending in this MSA.

For refinance loans in the Memphis MSA in 2011, Renasant made 112 such loans to whites, and only SIX such loans to African Americans, and only ONE to a Hispanic. This is inconsistent with other lenders' demographics of lending in this MSA.

In the Atlanta MSA in 2011 for conventional home purchase loans, Renasant made 27 such loans to whites, and NONE to African Americans or Hispanic.

For Table 4-1, Renasant made 16 such loans to whites, and only ONE such loans to an African American, and only ONE to a Hispanic.

Cumulated home purchase lending in this MSA: Renasant made 43 such loans to whites, and only ONE such loans to an African American, and only ONE to a Hispanic. This is inconsistent with other lenders' demographics of lending in this MSA.

For refinance loans in the Atlanta MSA in 2011, Renasant made 204 such loans to whites, and only TWELVES such loans to African Americans, and NONE to Hispanics. This is inconsistent with other lenders' demographics of lending in this MSA.

Also for the record, is facing a class-action lawsuit filed by securities law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd. The case claims that the merger proposal underwent a "fundamentally flawed process," only benefits Renasant and is detrimental to shareholders of First M&F.

The management and board of First M&F were also alleged to have violated their fiduciary duty by relying on conflicted analysis from Keefe Bruyette & Woods, First M&F's financial adviser, and providing shareholders with inadequate information about the deal, the report added.

Moreover, the suit also claims that First M&F's management did not look for a higher bid than Renasant's and agreed to deal-protection devices preventing other banks from bidding an offer higher than Renasant's.

Renasant has previously closed offices without replacing them: it shuttered its Trussville, Ala., branch and did not plan to open any replacement office, the Birmingham (Ala.) Business Journal reported Nov. 3, 2011."

Revolving door: OCC Chief Counsel Amy Friend is recusing herself for a year from discussions on the Dodd-Frank Act's Volcker rule in order for her to avoid conflicts of interest, according to SNL Financial. The conflict of interest stems from Friend's previous stint with consulting agency Promontory Financial Group LLC before she joined the OCC in February. While she worked with Promontory as a managing director, she advised a number of large institutions that are now being overseen by the OCC on matters related to the Volcker rule.

Friend handled former clients such as Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Morgan Stanley, American Express Co., Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Grosvenor Capital Management LP, LPL Financial Holdings Inc., MidCountry Financial Corp., National Australia Bank Ltd., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., and Fidelity Investments, a group of companies headed by FMR LLC, while she was in Promontory Financial. According to an OCC memorandum, Friend will recuse herself for a year from OCC business that involves her former employer as well as Morgan Stanley or five other former clients. She will not be recusing herself from OCC matters that involve former clients that she has not worked with for 12 months prior to her departure from Promontory.

In March 2013 Inner City Press and Fair Finance Watch began a challenge to Investors Bancorp's application to acquire Roma. In the NYC MSA in 2011 for conventional home purchase loans, Investors Bank made 220 such loans to whites, and only TWO such loans to African Americans. Its denial rate for Latinos was FIVE TIMES higher than for whites.

On April 5, Investors Bancorp announced it will try to also acquire $300 million Gateway Community Financial Corp - this also will be opposed, on the current record.

After not taking the question, afterward an IMF spokesperson replied to Inner City Press:

We welcome the recent security and oil-related agreements between the two countries, which could enable South Sudan’s oil production to resume and relieve the economic pressures that have been building up since oil was shutdown in January 2012. The Fund stands ready to continue supporting both countries going forward.

We are providing policy advice to the Sudanese authorities that would allow them to address the domestic and external imbalances, which resulted from the secession of South Sudan. The Fund is also providing well targeted technical assistance in key areas like tax policy and administration, public financial management, banking sector reforms and exchange rate reforms.

As you know, we have also launched a three-year capacity building program for South Sudan on key areas including foreign exchange issues, central banking, oil revenue legislation, non-oil taxation, expenditure management, and macroeconomic statistics.

“The fuel price increases that came into effect earlier this month are part of the measures underlying the 2013 budget that was approved by Parliament last December. These increases would help ensure that spending on subsidies, particularly on energy products that benefit mostly the better-off, are contained. A better targeted social safety net, as part of a larger subsidy reform, should be put in place to mitigate the impact on poorer households.”

And then a link! Hi Matthew, Please find below the link to the subsidies reform paper that was drafted by the IMF and includes examples and statistics for countries across the region. It was launched yesterday http://www.imf.org/external/np/fad/subsidies/index.htm

So the Securities & Exchange Commission has allowed Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America to block shareholders' proposals that directors explore the break-up of these banks. Strange, after the financial meltdown and bailouts...

Sleazeball on the move? New York Community Bancorp is reportedly checking out Pasadena, Calif.-based OneWest Bank FSB, successor to IndyMac. The owners of OneWest, reported to include John Paulson and George Soros, first looked to U.S. Bancorp and UnionBanCal. NYCB? Bad news...

Regarding BankUnited, “BDO observed that for early certificates there was a weakness in the controls over the review process for single-family asset charge-offs. BDO identified one charge-off that was overstated by $501,272.” They're also involved in a brouhaha with Universal Health Care Group Inc. on Feb. 13 blasting Bank United as "irrational," "poorly conceived" and "unnecessary" the demand by BankUnited NA to liquidate the stock in several health insurers through a "foreclosure sale.” So why are they being allowed to expand in New York? Watch this site.

In Panana, HSBC aims to sell off its banking operations to Bancolombia SA for $2.1 billion in cash, saying it will close in the third quarter. We'll see. Antonio Losada, CEO of HSBC Latin America, said HSBC Bank (Panama) is being sold so the bank can focus on its core markets of Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Yeah, right...

A deal we will be looking at is Renasant Corp's proposal to acquire Kosciusko, Miss.-based First M&F Corp - they say they'd close at least seven branches, we'll start on that issue. Watch this site.

Customers Bancorp, trying to buy Acacia, is getting grilled over several rounds by the Federal Reserve, following ICP/Fair Finance Watch's comments. The answers don't seem to be convincing the regulators. Yet Customers wants to buy more and more.

Miami-based Pacific National Bank, $355.0 million, controlled by the government of Ecuador, is up for sale, according to SNL Financial. We may have more on this one – and definitely on Customers.

So at Capital One, is Richard Fairbank ready to hit the road? The hiring, from outside, of new CFO Stephen Crawford has set off that theory. Critics of Capital One's subprime lending practices (and add-ons through venders) should know: it was Crawford who advised Fairbank on buying HSBC's subprime card operations....

UNITED NATIONS, January 31 -- The UN has been in the Democratic Republic of Congo for well over a decade, back to Dag Hammarskjold, in fact. And what has come of it?

On Thursday Inner City Press posed Congo questions to the UN in New York, after the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

During the IMF's embargoed morning briefing, Inner City Press asked about the IMF's freezing of $240 million in loans to the lack of transparency in the mining industry, which involves ENRC, Glencore and, of course, Freeport-McMoRan.

An IMF spokesperson responded, before 11 am, "Hi Matthew, On your DRC question, the ECF arrangement expired on December 10, 2012... it was not extended as requested by the authorities because published information related to the transfer of mineral assets by a state-owned enterprise, which was considered necessary to complete the review, was deemed insufficient by the IMF."

Then at the UN's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked about the UN's and now the DRC's delayed investigation into 126 rapes in Minova by the Congolese Army in November. UN deputy spokesperson Eduardo Del Buey would not explain by UN Peacekeeping chief Ladsous' statement that the probe would be finished in January is not being abided with. Video here, from Minute 6:54.

Would the IMF lend to its UN family (dysfunctional) sibling UN Secretariat and Department of Peacekeeping Operations?

Inner City Press put the same drone question, and one about the failure in Addis Ababa of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's DRC framework, to outgoing Security Council president Masood Khan on Thursday afternoon. Video here, from Minute 7:27.

He called the differences in Addis "procedural," and deferred on the drone question. But at least he answered, all month, unlike Ladsous. For the six minute beta #LADSOUS2013 video, click here. Watch this site.

After Capital One CFO Gary Perlin said "suppression in the third quarter benefited meaningfully from the effect of the remaining [Statement of Position] 03-3 mark on delinquent loans acquired from HSBC," Capital One announced it will return to the ABS market for the first time since 2009. So how good were those HSBC subprime and ING DIRECT acquisitions? Watch this site.

UNITED NATIONS, January 18 -- The International Monetary Fund has been known to press for the privatization of banks. But in Greece, as reflected in the IMF Staff Report released at 10:30 am today, the Fund is actively cheering on anti-competitive mergers, including to create a bank with a 40% market share of deposits.

The IMF's Staff Report breathlessly reports that "the system is also consolidating to lower costs. Two smaller banks were acquired by two core banks, and merger steps between two large banks, NBG and EFG, are now underway."

Bank mergers are not automatic - regulators are required to review them, including for antitrust. But the IMF goes on to state that "the authorities will allow the NBG-Eurobank merger to proceed. This could have significant business and funding advantages."

After some brief cautionary language, the IMF relies on the "EC’s DGCompetition [to] review the anti-trust aspects of the deal."

So does the IMF, which pushes for and praises this making of monopolies, have no antitrust or consumer protection duty at all? Watch this site.

"When the housing market crashed, so did Volker's contractor business, and he was unable to keep up with payments on his barn-like two-story house in Buffalo, New York. His mortgage servicer, HSBC, foreclosed on the home in 2009. A few months later, while he was staying with his girlfriend, he stopped by the house to find an HSBC padlock on the doorknob and bank stickers plastered across the door. Shattered glass covered his front steps. When he crawled through a broken window, he found the place trashed - by whom, he doesn't know. Even the toilets were gone. Hearing nothing more from the bank, he figured the house was no longer his. The place continued to decay. Gutters tore loose from the eaves. The yard turned into a dump for balding tires. Volker's neighbors started complaining to the Buffalo Housing Court, which eventually tracked down Volker at the rental where the 49-year-old was living and ordered him to appear in court. That's when Judge Carney told him that he was still the owner. "I was stunned," Volker says. "I never for a moment thought I still owned this house."

"Volker worked with a realtor to try to get HSBC to take several short-sale offers - deals under which the bank would allow Volker to sell the house for less than the amount owed on it - but he says HSBC turned them down. Since then, he's been asking the bank to agree to a deed in lieu, whereby he would give the house back to the bank. So far, he hasn't been able to make that happen. He has $1,000 in water and trash bills and faces up to $30,000 in demolition fees if the city decides his house is a safety hazard and must be torn down. HSBC declined to comment on Volker's case."

In the pending merger proposal of FirstMerit to buy Citizens Republic, FirstMerit tried to withhold nearly all of its submissions to the Fed. But through the Freedom of Information Act, Inner City Press has obtained some of the withheld material, including about the two banks' "small amount of cross-border activities."

From the land of dirty deals, Investors Bancorp is gunning to buy Roma Financial Corp in New Jersey. Investors is in New York as well, and its record is disparate. We'll have more on this.

Talk about sleaze: EZCORP Inc. on Dec. 20 announced the completion of several acquisitions, including its previously announced purchase of online lender Go Cash. The acquisition was part of a share placement by Cash Converters and preserves EZCORP's ownership percentage at about 33%, according to SNL Financial. The company also moved into the Arizona market through its acquisition of 12 USA Pawn & Jewelry stores in Tucson and Bullhead City.

So HSBC settles for money laundering for drug dealers, but there's no criminal sentence, no jail time, nothing. Meanwhile, SNL Financial reports that "Synovus Financial Corp.'s bulk sale of distressed assets as a net positive that could boost interest in the company as an M&A target. On Dec. 13, Columbus, Ga.-based Synovus announced the completion of a bulk sale of distressed assets. Including this transaction, the company expects to sell distressed assets."

If Spain's Bankia tries to sell Miami-based City National Bank of Florida, well, "there will be blood," given that bank's disparities. Watch this site.

UNITED NATIONS, November 29, updated -- The International Monetary Fund is much in the news, and not only on Greece and Egypt.

But Press questions submitted to the IMF for its Thursday briefing questions on Rwanda, Bosnia, Hungary, Sudan and South Sudan, as well as a long IMF dodged question on Sri Lanka.And none, by deadline, were answered. Here were the questions:

On Rwanda, Mr. Shinohara's statement did not directly mention aid cuts offs amid the M23 controversy. What *is* the IMF's position on that?

On Sudan and South Sudan, how does Khartoum's announcement that no South Sudan oil can flow through for now impact the IMF's views and programs?

In Bosnia, will the opposition boycott of one of the regional governments impact the IMF's relationship and program, impacting public servants getting paid, as Bosniak-Croat federation prime minister Nermin Niksic has said? [Update: this was later answered

IMF Spokesperson: “During the mission earlier this month, staff had reached agreements with the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina on government budgets for 2013 that are consistent with the objectives of the Stand-By Arrangement. Once these budgets are adopted by the respective parliaments, we can proceed with presenting the first review under the arrangement to the IMF’s Executive Board.”]

On Hungary, what does the IMF think of the country's new foreign currency bond plan? Does it mean no IMF program any time soon?

On Egypt (obviously), what is the effect of Morsi's moves on the IMF program?

Gerry Rice, spokesman, ran the briefing mostly "in the room," taking an online question on Argentina and the New York court ruling, on which he would not comment. But how about this?

Two weeks ago, Inner City Press asked the IMF to comment on the Rajapaksa government's new 2013 budget, which reportedly has $2.2 billion for defense / "urban development," a 26% increase over 2012. Inner City Press asked, "Given past IMF claims defense spending was not rising, what is IMF comment now?"

The IMF did not give a substantive response, but a spokesperson replied, "On Sri Lanka, the 2013 budget is expected to be finalized and presented in early November (we understand November 8). We have not yet seen the 2013 budget, and thus would not be in a position to comment at this time."

The spokesperson, asking to be identified as such, told Inner City Press "it would be the best if you could follow up on this later this month."

And so at the IMF briefing two weeks ago and today, after the Sri Lanka budget was released, Inner City Press asked again: "On Sri Lanka, now that the budget is out: given past IMF claims defense spending was not rising, what is IMF comment now?"

In light of news all over the world this month, Inner City Press also asked, "in light of this week's UN report on its failures in Sri Lanka during the killings in 2009, does the IMF as a member of the UN system have any review of or comment on its performance with regard to the killings, accountability and defense spending in the country?"

But during the IMF's embargoed briefing two weeks ago and this morning, alongside question after question on Greece, no answer was given. [Update: the Sri Lanka question was later answered, below]

What about the fortnight old questions on Mali and Romania which Inner City Press submitted, and those above, through the IMF Media Center and by email?

Inner City Press e-mailed again, asking for an explanation before deadline / embargo time. None was received. Then later, these, which we publish in full:

IMF spokesperson: "The 2013 budget envisages only a moderate increase in defense spending, less than the budgeted increase in total spending and below the projected growth of GDP. As a result, the share of defense spending in total spending and in GDP is declining. This is a welcome development, in line with the Fund recommendation to gradually reduce the defense spending and create room for increased capital spending."

Hurricane Sandy's impact: the New York Department of Finance Services went weeks without issuing a Weekly Bulletin of merger applications. So the Apple - Emigrant comment period must still be open, right? Especially since the Department only now acknowleged receipt of Inner City Press' Freedom of Information Law request for a copy of the application, and STILL hasn't provided it...

So Citizens Republic "would have to improve its operating metrics and be able to participate in FDIC-assisted deals. However, in the spring of 2012, concerns surfaced that due to "the uncertain economic recovery, a continued low interest rate environment, fewer opportunities for accretive FDIC-assisted transactions and increasing regulatory compliance costs," it would be more difficult than expected to achieve management's long-term goals. As such, Citizens decided to reevaluate its long-term plans in July 2012, hiring financial adviser J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to help with the process. J.P. Morgan initially provided a list of 15 potential strategic partners for the company. Citizens authorized J.P. Morgan to contact six of these companies on an anonymous basis to determine whether there was an interest in considering a potential strategic transaction," per SNL Financial.

Must have been hard to figure out which the "anonymous" target was. And there was FirstMerit. And now, here's the challenge. Watch this site.

Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch filed timely comments on FirstMerit's application to acquire Citizens Republic:

Reviewing 2011 HMDA data, the more recent data available (and largely unaddressed in existing CRA performance evaluations and fair lending exams), in the Akron MSA that year for conventional home purchase loans FirstMerit Bank made 140 such loans to whites, and only 12 such loans to African Americans (and only two to Latinos). It denied African Americans 1.97 times more frequently than whites; it denied Latinos 2.63 times more frequently than whites.

Citizens Republic's Citizens Bank in Akron in 2011 made three such loans to whites, none to African Americans.

In the Cleveland MSA in 2011 for conventional home purchase loans FirstMerit Bank made 163 such loans to whites, and only THREE such loans to African Americans (and NONE to Latinos). It denied African Americans 2.02 times more frequently than whites; it denied Latinos 3.54 times more frequently than whites.

Citizens Republic's Citizens Bank in Cleveland in 2011 made eight such loans to whites, none to African Americans.

FirstMerit in the Toledo MSA in 2001 made 17 such loans to whites, none to African Americans.

For the record, and in support of ICP's request for a hearing, there are integration worries:

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Sept. 13 revised its outlook on Akron, Ohio-based FirstMerit Corp. to negative from stable, believing the company's deal to acquire Flint, Mich.-based Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. could pose integration and risk-management difficulties...The transaction is the largest acquisition in FirstMerit's history. The rating agency further noted that though Michigan and Wisconsin are to a large extent similar to FirstMerit's traditional market of Ohio, they present new challenges and potentially different competitive dynamics.

If the integration is unsuccessful, unexpected asset quality problems exceeding the marks taken at the time of the acquisition rise, or risk-adjusted capital falls below 7%, the ratings could be cut. On the other hand, in the long term, if FirstMerit effectively grows in these new markets, S&P could revise the outlook back to stable.The agency does not expect to upgrade the ratings in the near to immediate term.

Despite this, FirsMerit is already talking about further acquisitions, with Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer William Richgels telling analysts that "We are going to be keeping in touch with those that we have been speaking with, and we're going to continue to evaluate other opportunities for growth."

Flint, Mich.-based Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. ($9.67 billion); its board; and Akron, Ohio-based FirstMerit Corp. ($14.62 billion) are facing four class-action lawsuits for allegedly having breached their fiduciary obligations to shareholders in relation to their stock-for-stock merger agreement, mlive.com reported.

The approximate value of $22.50 per Citizens Republic share — which Citizens shareholders are to get when exchanged with 1.37 shares of FirstMerit under the agreement — has dwindled because of FirstMerit's receding share price, the lawsuits claim.

One lawsuit, by Cecily Hoogerhyde, said FirstMerit had been trading at more than $17 per share before the announcement, which then decreased to as low as $14.94, "causing the implied consideration to drop nearly 10[%], to less than $20.50 per share" as opposed to the original implied value of $22.50, which the lawsuit said was also "inadequate," according to the Oct. 10 report.

The other lawsuits were filed by Michael Decker, Peter Block and a fourth, unidentified plaintiff, the news outlet reported.

The cases have been lodged in the 7th Circuit Court in Genesee County, Mich., before Circuit Court Judge Richard Yuille

November 2, 2012

Southern District Office
Director for District Licensing
500 North Akard Street, Suite 1600
Dallas, TX 75201

SO.Licensing@occ.treas.gov

RE: Timely Opposition to BankUnited's application to acquire Herald National Bank

Dear Director for District Licensing:

Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch has serious concerns about BankUnited’s proposal to acquire Herald National Bank and its branches in affluent Manhattan and suburban Long Island, as well as to open four branches in New York -- three in the most affluent parts of Manhattan and one in suburban Suffolk County, totally excluding upper Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.

Our organization and several NCRC members in Florida have raised concerns in connection with BankUnited currently underway CRA exam -- these applications for branches in affluent parts of New York should be postponed until that exam is finished and public; right now, they should be denied.

As recently as August, it's reported that BankUnited is still entertaining offers to be bought -- all the while having put Herald National Bank "on ice" during non-compete litigation. Bank expansion applications subject to CRA shouldn't be allowed to be an enticement for wheeling and dealing, but to serve communities and public benefits. These do not.

It has been reported that BankUnited couldn't even make this proposed acquisition, and open these branches until February 1 -- we suggest that the applications be adjourned or withdrawn until then. For the record:

"Kanas settled a lawsuit from Capital One, which had accused him of violating a non-compete agreement in the New York market. By Feb. 1, BankUnited will be able to open branches in New York and more aggressively pursue clients and employees there.

And, now it’s clear exactly where those branches would be.

The applications received by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Sept. 27 state that BankUnited wants to open branches at 299 Park Ave., 136 E. 57th St. and 960 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. It also wants a branch in Long Island at 445 Broadhollow Road in Melville.

Herald National Bank, which will be merged into BankUnited soon, already has branches at 623 Fifth Ave. in New York City and at 58 S. Service Road in Melville.

At the same time, BankUnited notified the OCC about three branch closures in Florida. It closed two branches in Port St. Lucie on Sept. 28 and plans to shutter a branch in Sun City Center in Hillsborough County in the coming months."http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/2012/10/bankunited-files-plans-for-four-new.html

So the plan is to open branches in affluent parts of New York, and to close them in Florida. The OCC should deny this....

Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch is concerned about the following data about BankUnited, which has been collected by NCRC and provided to members and partners at their request: In Miami-Dade County, BankUnited made just 9.8 % of its home loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers in 2010 and decreased it lending to 8.8% in 2011. By contrast, all lenders, as a group, issued 16.5% of their loans to LMI borrowers in 2010 and 17.6% in 2011.

The lending data is even more striking when you consider that 39.3% of households in Miami-Dade County are low- and moderate-income.

In Broward County BankUnited made 30% of its loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers in 2010 but significantly decreased its lending in 2011 making just 6.3% of its loans to these borrowers. In contrast, all lenders, as a group made 26.9% of their loans to LMI borrowers in 2010 and 23.3% in 2011.

The lending data is even more striking when you consider that 38.8% households in Broward are low- and moderate-income.

BankUnited’s lending to African Americans is a fair lending concern.

BankUnited record of meeting the needs of African American borrowers is poor.

In Miami-Dade County BankUnited made just one loan to an African-American borrower in 2010 and zero in 2011.

In Broward County BankUnited made three loans to African Americans in 2010 and zero in 2011.

BankUnited is not serving the needs of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

The bank had poor lending distribution not just to low- and moderate-income borrowers but also to low- and moderate-income census tracts. The most recent data shows that BankUnited made 6.7% of its home loans to LMI census tracts in Miami-Dade during 2010 and then decreased this lending in 2011 to just 1.8%. In contrast, all lenders, as a group, issued 12.2% of their loans to LMI census tracts in 2010 and 11.0% in 2011.

In Broward the pattern continues with the bank making 10% of its home loans in LMI census tracks in 2010 and then decreasing to 4.2% in 2011. In contrast, all lenders, as a group, issued 10.7% of their loans to LMI census tracts in both 2010 and 2011.

According to the latest data, the bank does an adequate job of providing bank branches in low-income neighborhoods in Broward County. However, data indicates that the bank is not doing an adequate job of branching in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County. In Miami-Dade County, the bank has just 18.2% of its branches in low- and moderate-income communities. In contrast, all lenders, as a group, have 23.5% of their branches in LMI neighborhoods. Furthermore, BankUnited receives just 6.2% of its deposits from LMI communities in the county. In contrast, all lenders, as a group, receive 24.2% of their deposits from LMI neighborhoods during 2011. This may be an indication that the bank needs to better advertise its deposit products and services to LMI communities in Miami-Dade.

According to the most recent Call report data, BankUnited had approximately $4.8 billion in loans and $7.4 billion in deposits for a loan-to-deposit ratio of 64 percent, which is low for a bank with approximately $11.8 billion in assets. Also, it is a full 10 percent lower than the Florida Section 109 loan-to-deposit ratio of 74 percent for all banks headquartered in Florida (Section 109 is a federal regulatory assessment of how a bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio compares against the ratio of other banks on a state level).

The OTS’ previous exam gave BankUnited a Low Satisfactory rating on the lending test. The 2010 and 2011 data suggests that BankUnited merits a downgrade in its lending rating from Low Satisfactory to Needs to Improve because of low lending levels and a poor distribution of loans by income of borrower. The minimal lending levels to African Americans are a fair lending concern that must be rigorously evaluated on the fair lending review accompanying the CRA exam. In addition, the paltry lending volumes suggest that BankUnited’s overall rating should change from Satisfactory to Needs-to-Improve since its branches are collecting deposits but then not lending.

Collecting deposits and not lending on a level commensurate with deposits is one of the classic forms of redlining and neglect of the community’s credit needs.

These applications to acquire Herald National Bank, and for branches in affluent parts of New York should be postponed until that exam is finished and public; right now, they should be denied.

Thank you for providing us with an opportunity to comment on this important matter.

Sincerely,

Matthew Lee, Esq., Executive Director
Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch

SOUTH BRONX, November 9 -- When M&T on August 27 announced biggest bank merger deal of the year, a $3.81 billion proposal to buy Hudson City Savings Bank, it was not the first time the Federal Reserve had heard about.

Inner City Press, which has challenged M&T's application under the Community Reinvestment Act, on November 9 got a belated Freedom of Information Act response from the Federal Reserve Board, less than two hours before the Fed said the extended comment period would close.

The documents released to Inner City Press show that on August 17, a full ten days before the public announcement, Federal Reserve Bank of New York official John Ricketti wrote to five others within the Fed:

"Wilmers called me this afternoon to inform me that M&T is looking to acquire M&T. [sic] He will be talking to his board about the acquisition at next Tuesday's board meeting and asked to come in Wednesday to talk to us (we're setting something up for late Wednesday afternoon). I'll be up in Buffalo for the board meeting to discuss the [REDACTED] and expect to learn more from him Monday night (I have a one-on-one meeting with him)."

The Fed advised M&T that its application to buy Hudson would probably be protested -- accurately, given that Hudson City in 2011, for conventional home purchase loans in the New York City Metropolitan Statistical Area, to make 765 such loans to whites and only FIVE to African Americans.

Of this, a Fed memo of August 24 said "this will require review of any issues that are raised and [REDACTED].

After the August 17 contact but before the proposal was announced, the Fed met on August 22 from 4:30 to 5:30 with "Wilmers" and Rene Jones, Michael Pinto and outside council Rodgin Cohen.

A slide presentation was made, much of which including on Due Diligence and Complexity has been withheld.

After the meeting, the New York Fed's Ivan Hurwitz sent a memo to the Fed in Washington, most of which has been blacked out.

On August 24, the Fed's John Ricketti wrote another memo, with talking points, about his meeting with Rodgin Cohen and Rene Jones, much of its redacted.

Then on August 27, Cohen [Rodge] called the Fed's Tom Baxter, and Wilmer called "Dudley," both summaries redacted.

After the deal was announced, M&T had more meetings with the Fed on September 7. Only after they submitted an application did Inner City Press submitted a FOIA request on October 2, and an initial protest, on October 7.

Now Inner City Press has timely requested a further extension of the comment period, to review the documents so belatedly released, and to appeal what is being withheld.

Withheld is the substantive part of "Confidential" Exhibit O, what M&T will actually PAY to Merger Sub, and nearly all of the anti-money laundering program, material changes and due diligence findings. The Board Resolutions and Agreement and Plan of Merger are all blacked out, which is ridiculous.

Since the announcement, Super Storm Sandy hit, and SNL Financial reported the Hudson City "said it was still too early to determine how many of its mortgage loans were located in tidal flood zones."

Regulators had allowed Hudson City in 2011, for conventional home purchase loans in the New York City Metropolitan Statistical Area, to make 765 such loans to whites and only FIVE to African Americans (and only 44 to Latinos). Meanwhile, Hudson City denied the applications of African Americans 3.21 times more frequently then those of whites.

Picking up on the challenge, the Buffalo News contacted M&T for its comment. M&T spokesman C. Michael Zabel countered that "we support community-based organizations."

But reporting by Inner City Press find this questionable, throughout M&T's footprint down to Virginia. M&T's next move was to reach out to friendlier media and announce that its merger application is proceeding - without mentioning the protest or why it was reaching out.

Similarly, M&T hyped up after the protests it celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month at its Newburg, New York branch, and got it reported without any mention of its lending record, much less the challenge.

But at least on M&T, the word got out in New York and New Jersey, where Hudson is based. Watch this site.

Six purported shareholders of Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. filed class-action lawsuits against FirstMerit Corp. in September and October alleging the proposed merger price and terms for the Flint, Mich.-based company are unfair, according to both companies' Form 10-Qs.

The lawsuits, filed in Circuit Court of Genesee County in Michigan, also allege Citizens' directors failed in their fiduciary duties by approving the transaction. They seek an injunction to or rescissory damages and other equitable relief.

By name, as reported by SNL Financial, the suits are: Hilary Coyne, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.; Vladimir Gusinsky Living Trust, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.; Cecily Hoogerhyde, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.; Michael Decker, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.; Robert Block, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.; and Blair Cole, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.

We'll have more on this.

BankUnited in Florida has applied to open four branches in New York: three in the most affluent parts of Manhattan, and one in suburban Suffolk County. Not only is this redlining, it also jumps the gun: due to a non-compete clause and settlement, the branches couldn't even be opened until February of 2013. Inner City Press has commented - receipt confirmed - asking for the applications to be suspended or withdrawn pending among other things a review Florida NCRC members have requested. We'll have more on this.

In the UK, according to SNL Financial, "the Parliament's Treasury Select Committee on Oct. 19 released a report stressing the need for the new Prudential Regulation Authority to have the power to approve large bank mergers. The committee made the recommendation that the government explicitly legislate for the new agency to have that power in a report that concluded that the FSA 'should and could have intervened' in the disastrous acquisition by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc of ABN AMRO Group NV in 2007. RBS needed a £45 billion government bailout following the acquisition. The Prudential Regulation Authority is one of two successor agencies to the FSA due to begin operations in 2013."

Predatory rewarded: the FDIC received 20 bids for failed Bloomington, Minn.-based First Commercial Bank, according to a bid summary last updated Oct. 9, reported by SNL Financial. State regulators closed First Commercial Bank on Sept 7. The FDIC-selected winner, Louisville, Ky.-based Republic Bank & Trust Co. ($3.17 billion), placed an all-deposit, whole-bank bid with an asset discount of approximately $79.4 million. And while, as per FDIC rules, the details of the second-place bid — also known as the cover bid — were omitted from the disclosure, the other nonwinning bids offered asset discounts ranging from $34.9 million to about $126.8 million.

Why would the FDIC, which purported to beat up on Republic for predatory / tax refund lending through Jackson Hewitt and Liberty Tax, now give it another bank without any application subject to public comment?

UNITED NATIONS, October 4 -- For at least three weeks Inner City Press has asked the IMF "On Rwanda, does the cutting of aid based on alleged support of M23 rebels in DRC have any impact on IMF analysis of or programs in the country?"

Finally as the last question at the IMF's October 4 media briefing spokesman Gerry Rice took the question. He replied, "An IMF mission is in Rwanda... Delays in aid disbursement is one of the issues the mission is looking into. We expect the mission to complete its work early next week and we will issue a press release at that time."

On Tuesday Inner City Press asked income Security Council president Gert Rosenthal of Guatemala why DRC is not on the agenda, is it just on hold? Video here, from Minute 22:48.

Rosenthal told Inner City Press that on "Eastern DRC, the Security Council has been waiting for some type of agreement among the Great Lake governments, so far it has not come forth."

Referring to Inner City Press' question he said, "the way you put it, the topic being on hold, is an accurate reflection of where we are right now. The situation is not good, and that is the reason we are reminding ourselves in the footnote that the topic may come to us this month, though not specifically scheduled." Watch this site.

There is another question on Rwanda, "Does the cutting of aid based on alleged support of rebels in DRC have any impact on IMF analysis or of programs in the country?" I can say an IMF mission is in Rwanda to conduct a fifth review under the Policy Support Instrument and the discussions for the 2012 Article IV consultation. To answer Matthew directly, delays in aid disbursements is one of the issues the mission is looking into. We expect the mission to complete its work early next week and we'll issue a press release at that time.

UNITED NATIONS, October 4 -- Just before Sudan spoke last Saturday at the UN General Debate, the IMF "encouraged the authorities to step up their dialogue with creditors and donors to garner support for debt relief." Sudan's arrears to the IMF itself are part of the problem.

Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti in his September 29 speech called for debt relief. At the IMF's next media briefing on October 4, Inner City Press asked two questions on Sudan:

"In the UN General Debate, Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali Karti said the country's debts should be forgiven. Any response? Do Sudan's and South Sudan's agreements last week in Addis Ababa have any impact on IMF analysis of or programs in either country? Any IMF comment on the agreements?"

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice took these as the penultimate question during the embargoed briefing, replying that

"The Fund welcomes the agreement on oil related and other issues between the two countries. We look forward to its implementation and to the resolution of other bilateral issues. The Fund stands ready to continue supporting both countries going forward."

But what support does the IMF give to Sudan? What about Ali Karti's call for debt relief?

Thursday in the UN Security Council, one of the "unresolved bilateral issues," Abyei, was to be discussed. Watch this site.

"In the U.N. general debate Sudan's foreign minister said the country's debt should be forgiven in response. Do Sudan's and South Sudan's agreements last week in Addis have any impact on IMF analysis or programs in either country? Can you comment on those agreements?" My comment would be that the Fund welcomes the agreement on oil related and other issues between the two countries and we look forward to its implementation and to the resolution of other pending bilateral issues, and the Fund stands ready to continue supporting both countries going forward.

On LIBOR, and only after a Freedom of Information Act appeal, we have received this:

From: Jose Alonso
To: jeremy c kress
Cc: stanley crisp; Mark Baker; David Goode
Date: 07/10/2012 06:08 PM
Subject: Fw: Mitsubishi UFJ Said to Suspend Two London Traders on Libor Probe

Here is the update on the Libor issue which you inquire about recently. The response is from Bob Hand, MUFG General Counsel in NYC.

I told Bob that BOG staff was interested in the status of the investigations as part of our application review process.

At the end of the email he expresses concerns as to the impact of this line of inquiry on the SBBT application an offers to meet with you and other interested parties. I will assume that you would invoke ex-parte concerns on such a meeting.

Yes, such a meeting would have, and perhaps did, violate the Fed's rule against ex-parte communication. No summary of the meeting was provided, at least along with Governor Jay Powell's September 25 FOIA appeal ruling...

Back in April, Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch filed comments with the FDIC opposing GE - MetLife bank. Now there's this, from SNL Financial:

"GE Capital Retail Bank, a unit of General Electric Co., will acquire approximately $7 billion in deposits from MetLife Bank NA, rather than GE Capital Bank. According to a Form 8-K filed Sept. 21, most key terms of the 2011 agreement remain unchanged. However, the amended transaction will be subject to regulatory approval by the OCC, and approval by the FDIC will no longer be needed. Upon completion of the sale, MetLife Bank will terminate its deposit insurance and MetLife Inc. will deregister as a bank holding company."

This is a scam. We'd hope to hear about it from Tom Hoenig of the FDIC, for example.

FirstMerit's $1.3 billion bid for Citizens Republic might put FirstMerit into Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as closing branches in Ohio - but even the rating agencies are dubious about FirstMerit's abilities...

GE's proposed acquisition of the deposits of MetLife Bank, which ICP protested months ago, remains unapproved by the FDIC. Some are saying that, unlike other applications, it requires action by the FDIC board. We'll see.

The FERC has given Deutsche Bank Energy Trading 30 days to show cause as to why it should not be fined $1.5 million and required to disgorge $123,198 (plus interest) of unjust profits for allegedly manipulating California energy markets, SNL Financial reported. The agency on Sept. 5 alleged that employees of Deutsche Bank, including some at the senior level, developed a scheme under which the bank's traders asked the California ISO to schedule exports of power over the 17-MW Silver Peak intertie in order to eliminate import congestion. The bank would then profit from the move because it possessed congestion revenue rights for the intertie.

In a telling incipient deal, Société Générale SA said Aug. 30 that Qatar National Bank expressed interest in buying the 77.17% stake that the French bank controls in National Société Générale Bank in Egypt, SNL Financial noted. SocGen added that an application was filed with the Central Bank of Egypt for due diligence of the unit but added that the "discussions are preliminary and there can be no certainty as to whether an agreement will be reached." The Egyptian unit is based in Cairo and had 160 branches across the country as of year-end 2011, according to its full-year 2011 report. It booked a full-year 2011 net profit of 1.49 billion Egyptian pounds, up 11% year over year. Ah, Arab Spring..

As to Mitsubishi UJF, trying to buy Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, the Fed is trying to withhold whole paragraphs about LIBOR -- unacceptable. Watch this site.

In the wake of the NYSDFS action against Standard Charter, Deutsche Bank is being looked at for similar money laundering for Iran and others. In denial, Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Friederika Borgmann said the bank had decided by 2007 to stop engaging in new business with countries such as Iran, Syria, Sudan and North Korea and also exit existing businesses as far as legally possible. We'll see.

Meanwhile the New York State Department of Financial Services quickly filed and settled charges against Standard Chartered Bank for laundering money for Iran to evade sanctions against that country, the same NYSDFS has been remiss in its more local duties.

A major New York bank franchise, Emigrant Bank, is up for sale to Apple Bank for Savings, but the NYSDFS appears asleep at the switch. The NYSDFS is rubbing stamping mergers and branch closings, and not responding to comments from the public.

First, Brazil's Banco Itau was said to be interested in buying in the United States, looking at Royal Bank of Scotland's Citizens Bank franchise, or Santander - Sovereign or even BNP's Bank of the West. Then they denied it. But do they protest too much?

Still sleazy: Community Bank System Inc. is closing five branches, three of which are former HSBC Bank USA NA branches divested by First Niagara. Among the remaining two, one of the branches is from among the three additional branches that Community Bank is acquiring from First Niagara. Supposedly the consolidation will be effective Sept. 10 and the consolidations will not result in any layoffs.

Green Dot just gave back much of its goodwill — and market value — in one 24-hour period. Green Dot shares lost 61.15% on July 27, prompted by management's decision to slash the firm's full-year guidance in anticipation of rapidly increasing competition.

Green Dot now expects just 5% growth in the average number of active cards, down from the greater-than-20% forecast provided in April. Cash transfer growth was cut as well, to 15% from 20% in the first quarter. The slowdown is likely to hit earnings hard, with the company forecasting 2012 EPS at $1.29 to $1.32, down from the original range of $1.65 to $1.70. That guidance cut marked the second time this year that Green Dot has softened its predictions.

"We see a greater level of uncertainty going forward in our business as our market and the prepaid industry in general continues to evolve," Chairman, President and CEO Steven Streit said on a July 26 conference call, monitored by SNL Financial...

On behalf of Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch and its members and affiliates (collectively, "ICP"), this is a FOIA request concerning withheld submission related the applications of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd and UnionBanCal Corporation to acquire Pacific Capital Bancorp & Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, which ICP timely protested.

Many of the applicants' submissions are being withheld, including directly on issues raised in ICP's timely protest. For example, and this is specifically requesting, a July 31 submission recites an FRB questions about Tax Refund Anticipation Loans (raised by ICP), and says "Please see Confidential Exhibit 1."

Similarly, in a July 24 submission, there is a question about Swiss regulators' inquiring into interest rate manipulation (that is, LIBOR scandal) - and it says "Please see Confidential Exhibit 2."

Two of the vendors that sold the credit card add-ons cited in Capital One's settlement with the CFPB and OCC also do business with Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America: private equity owned Affinion Group Holdings, and Intersections, for which Bank of America is more than half of the company's income....

As IMF Briefs on Spain, Former Chief Rato Pushed Bankia to Bailout, Safeguards?

UNITED NATIONS, July 27 -- When the International Monetary Fund's mission chief for Spain James Daniel held an embargoed (until now) press call Friday morning, he was asked about the flame out of Bankia, which was chaired by former IMF chief Rodrigo Rato.

While not followed up on the call, Rato's and now the IMF's role raise questions about the need for safeguards given the revolving door through which former IMF officials pass. Can former IMF-ers benefit from bail outs or "programs" of the the IMF?

The story of Bankia and its IPO is an ugly and extensive one. The global co-ordinators on the deal were Deutsche Bank -- which, as Inner City Press has noted, has a former official now on the Federal Reserve Board -- J.P. Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and UBS.

The retail underwriters on the retail tranche were Bankinter, Sabadell and Barclays, now of LIBOR fame.

L'affaire DSK garnered worldwide media coverage. But what of financial scandals involving former IMF officials? Watch this site.

So just in the last week there are announcements of a credit union merger proposal in Washington State (Prevail and Harborstone), the buy-up of United Community Bnak in Texas, and of Inland in Ontario, California; there is CRA-challenged WesBanco making a move into Pittsburgh. And there is a proposed deal in New York we will keeping a close, close eye on. Watch this site.

HSBC is subject to a Senate hearing this week, on funding support for terrorism... JPMorgan Chase's losses mount, along with evidence of what Jaime Dimon knew and when he knew it...

Even without major nationwide news there are a lot of small regional deals, like

And that's just in 10 days. Overseas, HSBC is selling in Monaco and buying in Egypt, GE is selling, so is Santander in Latin America...

UNITED NATIONS, July 12, updated -- After a series of questions take by the Internation Monetary Fund on Thursday about Greece and Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus, Inner City Press' question about Angola and transparency was asked by spokesman Gerry Rice:

"On Angola, what is the IMF's response to requests that the IMF insist on an audit of the oil revenue unaccounted for from 2007 to 2011?"

Rice had an answer prepared in his binder, from which he read, saying, "the IMF attaches great important to the transparency of governments in management of public finances."

He said the IMF and Angola have "devoted efforts" in light of the "large discrepancies observed in this accounts since 2011."

Rice claimed this has "produced important results" such as "highlighting factors underlying the discrepancies" and "promoting the introduction of institutional measures" for "accountability" for "Angola's oil revenue."

But where did the money go, other than to real estate in and around Lisbon? Who is being held accountable?

Rice continued that "the Angolan authorities say the intend to complete work" soon, that they "have adopted measure to address underlying problems."

As to the IMF, Rice said that the "Board concludedyesterday its 2012 Article 4 consultations with Angola" and that "there will be more info on that discussion, a Public Information Notice" soon. We'll see.

Inner City Press submitted two other questions, on Sri Lanka and Hungary. On the latter, the IMF half answered, that the authorities are requesting only a Stand By Agreement, "not a PLN."

Germany's Bafin is probing Deutsche Bank for LIBOR manipulation. DB's last quarterly report disclosed that the bank had received subpoenas and requests from regulators and government entities in the U.S. and Europe in connection with setting currency rates. Watch for mid-July...

Now the estimate for JPMorganChase's London whale dalliance is $4 to $6 million...

UNITED NATIONS, June 28 -- The International Monetary Fund and its director Christine Lagarde often use Africa, or the idea of Africa, as a place that they vaguely help or at least care about.

But at Thursday IMF briefing, amid repeated questions about Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Hungary, not a single sub Saharan Africa question was taken, much less answered. It's not that they weren't asked. Inner City Press submitted questions about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and these, among others:

In Sudan, the IMF earlier this month urges the government to institute "emergency measures." Have the steps since announced, which have given rise to protests that have been cracked down on, been consistent or inconsistent with the IMF's advice?

Pledges to the IMF have given rise to questions & protests in South Africa, the Philippines and elsewhere, by those who say the money could be better spent at home on the poor. What is the IMF's response?

And again: What is the status of IMF programs in and reviews of Mali and Guinea Bissau, given coups in each country?

But the IMF did not take the questions (in previous weeks, it has answered Inner City Press' questions about Sudan by email after the fact.)

Now, the IMF gives austerity advice to Sudan, then when protests erupt, the IMF would answer or even take the question.

A journalist ran in late, citing an interview at the American Enterprise Institute, and still got another answer on Greece. Perhaps it is Lagarde's guilt for telling Greeks to pay taxes when she doesn't. But what about those children in Niger? Watch this site.

So Mitsubishi UFJ's application to acquire Santa Barbara Bank & Trust is now essentially amended to say at least five branches would be closed, in Gilroy, Hollister Main, Salinas-Harden Ranch, Watsonville and Lompoc. The policy is... confidential.

So the FDIC, even after the subprime meltdown, rules that GE Capital Financial Inc, buying the deposits of MetLife Bank, is NOT responsible for the predatory lending of WMC, because it "was a subsidiary of a different financial institution (GE Capital Retail Bank)." This hairsplitting is shameful -- and dangerous. Watch this site.

Deutsche Bank AG bragged that its special situations group won the auction for a $911 million loan portfolio being sold by two units of Capmark Financial Group: Midvale, Utah-based Capmark Bank and Capmark Finance LLC. Typically, DB did not reveal the price it paid...

UNITED NATIONS, May 31 -- The International Monetary Fund's biweekly embargoed press briefing on Thursday focused almost entirely on the protests to Managing Director Christine Lagarde's comments that Greeks should pay their taxes -- while she does not pay taxes -- and as one Greek journalist focused in on, her comparison of Greece and Niger.

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice responded to this last by paying the IMF has to serve all of its members including the low income ones; he directed the press to Lagarde's clarification if not apology on Facebook. But is it enough?

The questions on Greece kept coming, until Rice said, this will be our last question on Greece. But it wasn't.

Inner City Press submitted a number of questions, including "On Hungary, can you respond to an analysis (by Citigroup) that "the IMF may still require structural expenditure cuts and changes to the tax system"?

Rice said, on Hungary, that there are "no dates... to start negotiations," adding that "we do continue" to be in touch with "the Hungarian authorities. A lot of actions are needed," he said, "to ensure central bank independence."

Then the questioning turned back to Greece. Rice said there will be no new mission until elections and a new government. One wonders how big the protests would be, if Lagarde went there now?

Others of Inner City Press' questions have yet to be answered, on Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire and one on Sudan, on which the UN Security Council was simultaneously meeting on Thursday morning:

On Sudan, because some are critical of the IMF's Edward Gemayel recent recommendation of a "structural reform program," could you explain what this means for the Sudanese?

Losers: Citigroup has sold 404 million common shares in Akbank TAS through an equity offering, representing a 10.1% equity interest in Akbank, for 5.24 Turkish liras per share. Total proceeds from the transaction are expected to be about $1.15 billion at the current exchange rate, resulting in an after-tax loss of about $243 million in the second quarter. The transaction is estimated to generate approximately 23 basis points of Tier 1 common capital under Basel III, according to a May 25 news release.

Meanwhile, Facebook's botched IPO cost Citigroup's automated trading desk about $20 million.

So JPMorgan Chase's gambling loss morphed from $2 billion to more than $3 billion, and some still say that "real reform" was put in place...

UNITED NATIONS, May 17 -- As tensions have escalated between Sudan and South Sudan about oil transfer fees and the size of Sudan's debt, Inner City Press has repeatedly asked the International Monetary Fund for its view of the oil fee dispute and about possible debt relief for Sudan.

At the IMF's Spring Meetings in Washington last month Inner City Press put the question to IMF regional expert Masood Ahmed. Finally on Thursday afternoon, after Inner City Press re-submitted the question to the IMF's embargoed briefing that morning, the following arrived:

Subject: Sudan questions
Date: Thu, May 17, 2012 at 1:55 PM
From: [Spokesperson at] imf.org
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Q - What is the IMF doing on or about the Sudan - South Sudan oil transfer fee dispute?

At the request of the African Union, the IMF has provided estimates of the fiscal and external impact of South Sudan’s separation on both countries. The Fund has not taken any position on the amount of financial assistance or oil transit fees that South Sudan could pay.

The Fund is discussing with the authorities economic policies to help stabilize the situation and implement reforms to sustain more inclusive growth. These could underpin a new Staff Monitored Program. Despite Sudan’s good cooperation on policies and payment to the Fund under successive SMPs, Sudan remains in arrears to the IMF and therefore ineligible to use Fund resources.

"What is the status of IMF programs in and reviews of Mali and Guinea Bissau, given coups in each country? "

If the IMF's work on the Sudans was at the request for the African Union, what about ECOWAS and these two coup d'etats? Watch this site.

So JPMorgan Chase gambles and loses $2 billion, and on Meet the Press Jaime Dimon says there was "almost no excuse." So, what's the partial excuse? Dimon claims JPMorgan Chase has supported 70% of Dodd Frank. But what about the Volcker Rule? Then on the McLaughlinGroup, Financial Times editor Gillian Tett says FT will editorialize for "better regulation" after l'affaire JPMorgan Chase. We'll see.

UNITED NATIONS, May 7 -- When the International Monetary Fund's Meral Karasulu took questions about the IMF's work in and assessment of Myanmar on Monday night, one expected military rule and fighting in the ethnic zones to be a topic.

But amid the IMF's rosy view, pitching for example natural gas reserves, the world's major wire services focused on exchange rates, natural gas and, in the case of AFP, the Paris Club creditors getting paid back their money.

Inner City Press asked Meral Karasulu two questions: how likely does the IMF think that a reversion to military rules, and did the IMF even consider the continued conflict in Kachin state in its assessment?

Meral Karasulu politely dodged the first question, saying that the IMF has no "comparative advantage in political analysis," even that it would be "inappropriate" to consider the risk of reversion.

Meral Karasulu emphasized the Myanmar's main economic activity is not in the ethnic areas.

Asked where Myanmar's reserves actually are, Meral Karasulu said in three state owned banks controlled by the Ministry of Finance.

Of corruption in Myanmar, Meral Karasulu said she has "no anecdotes," and that during country visits the IMF can't see it. Meral Karasulu will return to Myanmar in the second half of May. Watch this site.

after the press conference, in which my question was about Egypt, I asked Masood Ahmed about Sudan, South Sudan and the IMF, on which he's written, and specifically his / the IMF's view of the oil transfer fee (and impact of stopping oil pumping and destroying the Heglig field). I was told to email the question so here it is: I cover the UN, and Sudan diplomats say they want $34 a barrel transfer fee, South Sudan offers some 40 cents, citing example of Chad to Cameroon, and Azerbaijan to Turkey. What is the IMF's view of this oil transfer fee issue?

But even as, or because, the conflict military and diplomatic around Heglig continued to heat up, the IMF never answered.

Lead IMF spokesman Gerry Rice on camera answered the Romania question, saying that even after the fall of the government the IMF mission remains in dialogue and will report back.

In response to your question on South Sudan during today’s press briefing, you can attribute this to an IMF spokesperson:

"Conflict in border areas and a prolonged shutdown of oil production will have serious implications on both countries' economies and people's livelihoods. We look forward to a mutually beneficial resolution of oil and other bilateral issues as soon as possible."

"What is the IMF doing in Sudan and South Sudan given the economic and oil transfer fee roots of the conflict between them? South Sudan cites the IMF for the less than a dollar a barrel transfer fee it proposes. I asked Ahmed Masood during the Spring meeting but have not heard back. What IS the IMF's position?"

So Inner City Press has asked again, and is now told "Sure. Will get back to you on this." Watch this site.

On behalf of Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch and its members and affiliates (collectively, "ICP"), this is a comment opposing and requesting public hearings on the application by New York Community Bank to acquire substantially all of the assets, and $2.3 billion of deposits of Aurora Bank FSB.

On the FDIC's web site, the comment period on this application runs through May 5, 2012. This comment is timely.

Aurora is a subprime, some say predatory, lending unit of the scandal wracked Lehman Brothers. For the record:

"Aurora had become one of the largest players in that market, originating $25-billion worth of loans in 2006. It was also the biggest supplier of loans to Lehman for securitization. Lehman had acquired a stake in Aurora in 1998 and had taken control in 2003. By May, 2006, some people inside Lehman were becoming worried about Aurora's lending practices."

NYCB is a bank which has sought to fly under the radar -- for example, a recent search of the FFIEC HMDA data back for "New York Community Bank" reveals only one HMDA reporter, 0000016022-3, reporting geography specific data in only three MSAs.

In the Phoenix MSA in 2010, the most recent year for which data is publicly available, NYCB made 292 conventional home purchase loans to whites and NO such loans to African Americans. Based on its disparate marketing, NYCB received only four such applications from African Americans, and denied three of them. To Latinos, NYCB more only 14 such loans, compared to the 292 to whites.

In the Fort Lauderdale MSA in 2010, NYCB made 38 conventional home purchase loans to whites, and NO such loans to African Americans.

In the West Palm Beach MSA in 2010, NYCB made 83 refinance loans to whites and only ONE such loan to an African American applicant, and only seven to Latinos.

The FDIC [and NYSDFS] should require answers, extend the comment period and hold public hearings.

In the course of spinning its first quarter earnings numbers, Capital One's CEO let it slip that $75 million are being set aside to deal with fraudulently sold products. "Oops." This has been raised to the OCC and Federal Reserve; watch this site.

At IMF, Canada's FinMin Flaherty Tells ICP Glad for Delay of Volcker Rule, Geithner

WASHINGTON DC, April 20 -- The Volcker Rule on proprietary trading by banks was one of the responses to the subprime financial meltdown of 2008.

Flaherty told Inner City Press, "it came up informally a couple of times... I can tell you, Canada is please there's been delay in planned implementation date, concerned about extraterritorial effect, I've discussed with Secretary Geithner and we look forward to further developments."

Geithner, as we've noted and even asked the US State Department to explain, did not show up for the Finance Ministers meeting about Rio + 20 and sustainable development held Friday at the World Bank. But has Geithner given Flaherty some re-regulatory assurance?

Flaherty was also asked about a "disagreement" he had with Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble, concerning whether European countries were doing enough about their crisis to avoid Flaherty's requested veto and loss of European seats in the IMF.

Flaherty said he's known Schauble for as long as he's been Germany minister, Flaherty has served longer. Could that be the problem?

Inner City Press asked him directly, beyond the alleged differential treatment of sovereign debt, if the mixing of banking and proprietary trading played a role in the meltdown.

"We're all entitled to our views," Flaherty replied. "In the Canadian situation, proprietary trading was not an issue for us. Some would argue it was not causative. I'll leave to others to debate." Yeah - while he whispers to Tim Geithner about it, then at the G20 in Mexico.

Later Friday afternoon outside the IMF a protest marched by, to chants including Occupy Wall Street. Few journalists looked up from "making the donuts," so to speak, packaging Christine Lagarde's canned quotes to Charlie Rose as news. And so it has gone at the IMF. Watch this site.

"A transparent effort by Capital One to impede lawful competition" has been alleged, by two who should know: John Kanas and John Bohlsen formerly of NY-based North Fork Bank. They had served in executive roles with Capital One following the December 2006 sale of North Fork Bancorp. Inc. before departing by mutual agreement in August 2007. Their respective separation agreements contained provisions restricting them from engaging in the consumer or commercial banking business in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut until August 2012. Both executives participated among a group of investors that formed BankUnited and acquired the assets of a south Florida institution of a similar name upon its failure in May 2009. Capital One described the government-assisted deal as "the first step" of Kanas' and Bohlsen's plan to create "a second North Fork" in the New York market.

North Fork, like Capital One, underserved lower income and communities of color. So, a plague on both their houses. The case is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. A hearing on the plaintiffs' summary judgment motion has been set for April 27, but Capital One has requested that the court simultaneously hear summary judgment motions from both sides on May 11.

UNITED NATIONS, April 11 -- While the International Monetary Fund often insists it does not impose conditions on loans, for the $1 billion program it announced Wednesday for Bangladesh, it required among other things lower fuel subsidies, and centralizing bank regulation.

Inner City Press asked David Cowen, IMF Mission Chief for Bangladesh, about this bank regulation condition, and about the rush by Bank Bangladesh to give licenses to nine new banks chartered by political insiders, on the eve of the IMF decision.

Cowen described the required amendments to the Bank Companies Act, for "fit criteria for bank directors," and said that the IMF was aware of the recent license grants, and hadn't had the chance to discuss them with Bangladesh authorities.

He said regular procedures for licensing new banks had been followed -- indeed -- and that the banks should be subject to the regulations applicable to all banks in Bangladesh.

"former president and Jatiya Party chief H.M. Ershad (Union Bank), ruling party lawmakers Fazle Noor Taposh (Modhumati Bank) and Mohiuddin Khan Al Amgir (Farmers Bank), S.M. Amjad Hussain (South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank) and Ashequr Rahman (Meghna Bank) and Moniruzzaman Khan Khandaker (Midland Bank), the income tax lawyer to Shaikh Hasina."

Meanwhile HSBC is trying either to sell its 13 Bangladesh branches, reportedly to Standard Chartered, or simply to close them by some accounts.

On April 10 HSBC announced it is in talks to sell off its operations in Pakistan and is moving in on a sale of its South Korean businesses to the Korea Development Bank.

Beyond Bangladesh, other Asian markets where HSBC has fewer than 20 branches are Brunei Darussalam, Macao, New Zealand, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Watch this site.

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 -- Has Iceland turned the corner away from financial meltdown? The International Monetary Fund seems to think so. On Thursday the IMF released three reviews of the country and held an embargoed conference call for the press hosted by Julie Kozack, tellingly her last as IMF Mission Chief to Iceland. She will be moving on to Lithuania and Poland.

As previously noted by Inner City Press, the IMF likes bank mergers. Last April, IMF European Department Director Antonio Borges told reporters on Friday that Belgium was smart to have pushed Fortis to being acquired by BNP Paribas. He urged more such mergers.

Inner City Press asked Borges if the IMF proposed any safeguards at all, given that concerns exist that when a local bank is acquired by one based far away, there will be less reinvestment and accountability.

Borges, while calling this an “interesting question,” bragged that the IMF organized a coordinated effort to get large banks to treat communities, particularly in Emerging Europe, fairly, and that this had worked

And so it seems, the IMF likes bank mergers. In Iceland this is footnoted, that "data for Landsbankinn and Islandsbanki reflect the impact of their respective mergers with Sp Kef. and Byr in the second half of 2011."

"A strong, intrusive, and independent supervisory agency is essential to help avoid the build-up of risks that can lead to crisis... additional examiners with credit risk expertise may be needed in the onsite inspection area and the credit risk bureau may need more resources to become a powerful supervisory tool. Staff underscored that preserving the FME’s independence, and its capacity and willingness to act, is essential to ensure that the needed strengthening of supervision continues, toward full compliance with Basel Core Principles."

But what of bank regulation in countries like the United States, UK, France and Germany? Watch this site.

IMF On Sri Lanka Deficit, No Reference to Defense, No Timeline for Egypt Deal

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 5 -- At the International Monetary Fund's briefing on April 5, Inner City Press asked about Egypt and Sri Lanka. The Egyptian answer was short and picked up by wire services -- "the timeline for concluding an agreement is not fixed and will depend on how quickly progress is made by all sides on these issues" -- but the Sri Lanka answer was provided later and so is published here.

Inner City Press asked, "What is the status of the IMF's program in Sri Lanka? Is the IMF only looking at balance of payments? When would it consider releasing the next and final tranche?"

Later, just after embargo deadline, the following came in:

From: IMF Media Relations
Date: Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 10:37 AM
Subject: Question Received
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com

Dear Matthew, Thank you for your question. Please attribute the following to Gerry Rice, Director of External Relations Department, IMF.

On April 2, the Executive Board approved the completion of the Seventh Review of the Stand By Arrangement, which enables the disbursement of SDR 275.6 million (approximately $400 million). The Board also approved the extension of the program by 2 months to July 2012 to allow time for the completion of the Eighth and final review.

The main pillars of the program are to rebuild Sri Lanka’s reserves, while transitioning to a more flexible monetary and exchange rate policy framework, reducing the budget deficit to sustainable levels, and strengthening the financial system.

This follows back and forth with the IMF regarding Sri Lanka's increased defense spending.

The question of if the IMF is only looking at balance of payments refers, for example, to the recent UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka and accountability for crimes in the final stages of its military conflict in May 2009 -- after which defense spending continued nevertheless to climb, impacting the very budget deficit the IMF refers to.

Meanwhile the military SCAF government in Egypt is reportedly poised to take out an IMF loan. Inner City Press asked, What is the IMF's reaction to the reported deal in Egypt around an IMF program? Will the program now go forward? Does the IMF think enough 'stakeholders' agree?"

It was to that that the IMF responded, "the timeline for concluding an agreement is not fixed and will depend on how quickly progress is made by all sides on these issues." Watch this site.
* * *

The Fed has, so far, allowed BB&T to amend its application to acquire BankAtlantic, to tell ICP about its application late, and not yet to extend the comment period. ICP has complained:

This is a third comment on the applications by BB&T to acquire scandal-plagued BankAtlantic. BB&T has significantly amended the proposal after an adverse court ruling -- the changed structure should trigger a new public comment period.

Troublingly, while BB&T outside law firm Wachtell, Lipton send the amendments to the Fed on March 19 by courier, they were only sent to Inner City Press the follow (this) month. So Inner City Pres is requesting an extension of the comment period.

It would be ludicrous to argue that the changes to the proposal, the result of a court order, are not substantial. As such, it is unclear to ICP why no new public notice appears to have been published.

As described, BB&T would assume about $285 million of BankAtlantic Bancorp TruPS obligations in exchange for a 95% preferred interest in a newly established limited liability company, which will comprise about $423 million of loans and $17 million of other net assets. BB&T has estimated $350 million of recoverable preference value in the limited liability company. Once BB&T recovers $285 million in preference amount from the limited liability company, its interest in the company will terminate. BB&T would also have an incremental $35 million guarantee to assure BB&T's recovering within seven years of the $285 million preference amount.

ICP has recently obtained BB&T 2011 HMDA-LAR and will be commenting on its, in a week's time. The comment period must be extended.

April 2, 2012

In the first study of the just-released 2011 mortgage lending data, Inner City Press and Bronx-based Fair Finance Watch have found that banking behemoths Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo continued with high cost loans and disparities by race and ethnicity in denials and higher-cost lending.

2011 is the eighth year in which the data distinguishes which loans are higher cost, over a federally-defined rate spread of 1.5 percent over Treasury bill yields.

The just released data show that Citigroup confined African Americans to higher-cost loans above this rate spread 3.38 times more frequently than whites in 2011, worse that its 2.25 disparity in 2009, Fair Finance Watch has found.

Citigroup confined Latinos to higher-cost loans above the rate spread 2.42 times more frequently than whites in 2011, worse that its 1.72 disparity in 2009, the data show.

Growing Southern bank BB&T, even absent its subprime unit Lendmark, in 2011 confined African Americans to higher-cost loans above the rate spread 2.59 times more frequently than whites

Fair Finance Watch has continued its enforcement project in the South, most recently raising issues under the Community Reinvestment Act on BB&T's proposal to acquire BankAtlantic. In response, the Federal Reserve Board extended the comment period. Much of BB&T's application has been blacked out or withheld in full, which Inner City Press is challenging under the Freedom of Information Act.

Inner City Press & FFW have also joined others concerned with Deutsche Bank's decertification as a financial services holding company to escape Dodd Frank including its capital adequacy rules -- particularly given Deutsche Bank's role in the subprime scandal, as lender, securitizer and now major forecloser.

The law required that the 2011 data be provided by March 31, following March 1 joint requests by Fair Finance Watch and Inner City Press. Several banks did not provide their data by the deadline, most notably Capital One and Bank of America, despite confirming receipt of the request. Further studies will follow: watch this site.

March 26, 2012

Citibank in 2007 bought 20% of Turkey's Akbank. Now it is cutting that in half -- Akbank says, only to comply with Basel III. We'll see.

IMF Says Consults Broadly in Egypt, Focus on Democracy Doubted, Mali Silence

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 22 -- After Egyptian Finance Minister Mumtaz al-Said bragged that the International Monetary Fund does "not object to the government's economic program," Inner City Press on Thursday again asked IMF spokesperson David Hawley for the IMF's "response to criticism that it is negotiating with an unelected military government in a way that the parliament opposes."

David Hawley replied, "In response to Matthew Lee's questions, I'd note that the purpose of the mission that's just wrapped up in Cairo is to consult broadly with stakeholders in Egypt to ensure that should there be a program that it enjoys broad political and social support, thank you very much."

While the IMF's regional director Masoud Ahmed held a number of meetings in Cairo, the concerns still exist.

Also on democracy, Inner City Press submitted this question: "On Mali, please describe the IMF's recent work there, the country's level of debt, and what the IMF knows and thinks about the reported coup or mutiny."

In front of the UN Security Council, from where Inner City Press submitted its four questions to the IMF, it also asked US Ambassador Susan Rice about Mali: is it a mutiny or a coup? She said, "looks like a coup." The Security Council is slated to meet about Mali at 4:30 pm.

But the IMF did not answer or even acknowledge the question, despite this sample statement on its website:

A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Bamako from September 5 to 16, 2011 to conduct discussions on the seventh review of the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), which will expire at end-2011, and on the preparation of a new three-year program eligible for IMF support. The team met with Mariam Kaïdama Cissé, Prime Minister; Lassine Bouaré, Minister of Economy and Finance; Sambou Wagué, Minister of Budget; Oumar Ly, National Director, Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO); and representatives from the National Assembly, civil society, unions, and the private sector.

Christian Josz, IMF Mission Chief for Mali, issued the following statement:

'The economic program of the government of Mali supported by the IMF remains on track'

We aim to have more on this. Inner City Press also submitted questions on South Sudan and Sri Lanka which have yet to be answered.

At Thursday's briefing, Hawley said on Myanmar that "the Article IV was held beginning of this year and is going to the Board. The authorities have agreed to publication, I believe for the first time, of the Article IV and that will take place in the weeks ago." That, he said, will allow a discussion of the managed float of currency. Watch this site.

March 19, 2012

In 2008 Deutsche Bank "reported it has established a subsidiary in Peru to participate in the foreign exchange, government bonds and derivatives markets of the mining country."

So, exploitative mining and... DB's subprime troubles are even mentioned in France:

"Deutsche Bank a annoncé avoir réglé un litige juridique remontant à la crise du crédit hypothécaire à risque (subprime) aux Etats-Unis"

But they haven't really regle-ed or fix it at all...

March 12, 20012

The FDIC has objected to Patriot Financial Partners LP and Castle Creek Capital LLC acquiring a roughly 90% stake in Saint Augustine, Fla.-based Prosperity Banking Co. unit Prosperity Bank. The application was withdrawn Feb. 21. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based BankAtlantic/BB&T Corp. transaction, recently blocked by a Delaware court, was modeled on Prosperity's deal with Patriot and Castle...

IMF Says Hungary's Fillegi Will Not Meet Management, of CB, Philippines

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 8 -- While Hungarian minister Tamas Fellegi says in his upcoming visit to the International Monetary Fund in Washington he will "meet with management," when Inner City Press asked IMF spokesman Gerry Rice on Thursday, Rice said "no meeting with management is anticipated," only with the mission chief.

Inner City Press asked where things stand, including on proposed amendments to Hungary's Central Bank law. Rice said the IMF is looking for "sustained commitment on major policy issues before proceeding with discuss on a program... including the issue of the Central Bank law."

While most questions taken at the biweekly IMF briefing concerned Greece, Inner City Press and several others also asked about Egypt. Asked about the impact of the rift between Egypt and the US about the non-governmental organization workers, Rice claimed "we are international financial institution of 187 countries, not effected by bilateral relations among two member countries." Even if one is the US, with its quota and voting strength?

Footnotes: the IMF by deadline left two of Inner City Press' question unanswered:

South Sudan has cited the IMF as supporting its oil transfer fee offer to Sudan of 69 cents a barrel. Has the IMF played a role in this fee negotiation, and this price?

Senegal's actual growth rate has recently been measured as barely one half of what the IMF estimated. Was the IMF wrong? Or what happened?

And on an IMF conference call this week when Inner City Press asked if the IMF's mission to the Philippines considered charges that the Central Bank there may have leaked the bank records of Chief Justice Renato Corona, the answer was that it hadn't been considered... yet. Watch this site.

March 5, 2012

Delaware Court of Chancery Judge J. Travis Laster has questioned Alan Levan's assertions that blocking the sale to BB&T could lead to BankAtlantic Bancorp's failure. "The apocalyptic picture painted by [BankAtlantic] Bancorp at trial contrasts sharply with the history of the sale transaction... it is far from clear that failure is imminent or that [BankAtlantic] Bancorp lacks other options."

February 27, 2012

IMF Spins Egypt's Need, Half Answer on Unelected Military SCAF, Pledge

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 23, updated 11:36 am -- Even as criticism of the International Monetary Fund grows in Egypt and for not living up to its so-called Arab Spring pledge of $35 billion, the IMF at its biweekly briefings refuses to take or answer questions in this regard.

As it did on Feburary 9, Inner City Press as soon as Thursday's briefing began asked, "How much of the $35 billion 'Arab Spring' pledge has the IMF disbursed, given the criticism from, among others, UAE's Younis Haji al-Khouri?"

This time, Inner City Press added this specific: "On Egypt, what is the IMF's response to public calls that the new Egypt cannot be bound by IMF contracts with an unelected military government, and that all or some of Egypt's $36 billion in debt should be forgiven?"

Christine Lagarde's spokesman Gerry Rice took a full half hour of questions about Greece, then online questions ranging from the Dominican Republic and Italy to Argentina and a single question on Egypt. But it was not about debt relief or loans to unelected military governments, but rather a softball, what does the IMF suggest?

Rice began "we don't yet have a program with Egypt so I won't get into details" -- then said that "growth has stalled" and "foreign exchange reserves dropped."

The pitch, then, is that Egypt needs the IMF, even if its the SCAF taking out more debt on top of the $36 billion run up under Mubarak.

Update of 11:36 am -- an hour after embargo deadline, these answer were provided and we publish them in full:

Dear Mathew, Sorry we could not take up your questions during the press briefing, but I can offer you the following responses on the Arab Spring and Egypt.

On the Arab Spring: As we said in the context of the Deauville initiative and as the Managing Director of the IMF repeated in her interview with Asharq Al Awsat recently, the IMF can make available $35 billion in loans for the MENA region’s oil- importing countries upon request. Such loans would be in support of the governments’ and the central banks’ macroeconomic policy programs and at their request and, like elsewhere, are provided on favorable terms to help countries transition to where they can once again secure financing from the market. At the moment, we are in discussions with the Egyptian authorities on a possible IMF-supported program to help stabilize Egypt’s economy, restore confidence, lay the foundations for job-creating growth, and ensure that vulnerable households are protected during the transition. And we stand ready to engage in similar discussions with any country that requests it.

Egypt: As we said repeatedly, we clearly want to support a program that addresses Egypt’s economic challenges, is designed and fully owned by the Egyptian authorities, and enjoys broad political support. The latter is essential to ensure the success of any economic reform program.

We'll have more on this.

Footnote: Because the IMF under Lagarde has become even less responsive than under DSK -- who recently spent a night in jail during an ongoing police investigation of a prostitution ring -- Inner City Press killed off a recent UN lunch hour at an event by the IMF's Special Representative to the UN Elliott Harris.

Inner City Press asked Harris, what about the criticism of the IMF not spending Lagarde's Arab Spring pledge? What about the charge that the IMF's austerity bailout in Greece is meant to help countries (and banks) other than Greece?

Harris genially replied that Lagarde's pledge represented only lending "capacity," and emphasized that Egypt hasn't accepted an IMF program. He said he "regrets" Greece. Don't we all. Watch this site.

February 20, 2012

Now this has gone in: a timely second comment on the applications by BB&T to acquire scandal-plagued BankAtlantic. On February 3 Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch (ICP) requested a copy of, and commented on, the applications, noting scandal in the public record and that notice of the proposal had disappeared from the Federal Reserve's H2A of applications subject to public comment.

A portion of the application, referring to wrongfully withheld exhibits, was provided; then comment period was extended to February 17, on information and belief due to the lack of H2A notice to the public. It is unclear if the brief extension, only for ICP, cures this -- we say "no," and ask for a further extension, including for the public at large, after satisfactory notice is given.

The eight page application provided shows that BB&T has sought to withhold basic antitrust information that other applicants routinely make public. It says, as simply one example, "See Confidential Exhibit 3, Competitive Analysis, for a quantitative analysis on the impact of the merger in the relevant market." Also being withheld is information about what BB&T would be buying, and not buying. ICP has submitted a formal FOIA request through the Fed's web site. This information must be released, and the comment period extended.

ICP has for this submission looked at BB&T's lending records in 2010, the most recent year for which data is available, first in the MSAs the application references.

In the Port St. Lucie MSA, based on it marketing, BB&T in 2010 for conventional home purchase loans received 36 applications from whites, making 23 loans with six denials. BB&T based on its marketing received NO APPLICATIONS from African Americans, and only one from a Latino, which BB&T then reported as "withdrawn." This is troubling.

Similarly for refinance loans, BB&T in 2010 in this MSA received 49 applications from whites, making 29 loans with five denials. BB&T based on its marketing received NO APPLICATIONS from Latinos, and only one from an African-American, which BB&T then reported as "incomplete." This too is troubling.

In the Miami MSA, based on it marketing, BB&T in 2010 for conventional home purchase loans received 96 applications from whites, making 47 loans with 24 denials. BB&T based on its marketing received only two applications from African Americans, making one loan with one denial.

Similarly for refinance loans, BB&T in 2010 in this MSA received 142 applications from whites, making 79 loans with 31 denials. BB&T based on its marketing received only five applications from African Americans, making two loans with two denials.

In the Ft Lauderdale MSA, based on it marketing, BB&T in 2010 for conventional home purchase loans received 120 applications from whites, making 58 loans with 35 denials. BB&T based on its marketing received only 13 applications from African Americans, making five loans with three denials.

Similarly for refinance loans, BB&T in 2010 in this MSA received 189 applications from whites, making 111 loans with 38 denials. BB&T based on its marketing received only SIX applications from African Americans, making three loans. This is troubling.

Also troubling is that the BB&T chairman and CEO listed in the application, Kelly King, is on the board of directors of the Richmond Fed, to which BB&T is applying. This conflict of interest should be addressed, including in whatever Order the Board issues on this proposal.

BankAtlantic and this proposed transaction are embroiled in scandal. For further example and for the record in this second timely submission:

"BankAtlantic Bancorp said it could hold a stock rights offering to its existing shareholders as of Feb. 27 in case its deal with Winston-Salem-based BB&T Corp. does not go forward as planned. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., bank (NYSE: BBX) announced a deal in November to sell its banking franchise, along with most of its assets and all of its deposits and branches to BB&T (NYSE: BBT). However, that deal is being challenged in a lawsuit by the investors in BankAtlantic Bancorp’s corporate debt, in the form of trust-preferred securities (TruPS). The acquisition deal calls for BankAtlantic Bancorp to retain about $623 million in assets, mostly noncurrent or criticized loans and repossessed properties, and keep about $320 million in TruPS debt outstanding. It would repay its outstanding interest to the TruPS investors, but they would either be repaid in full or have BB&T assume the obligation for that debt. A judge in Delaware is expected to rule on that matter by March 1."

The comment period should be extended at least until after this March 1 ruling. There's also the SEC.

On the current record, the merger applications should not be approved.

February 13, 2012

Following ICP's comments last week on the proposed acquisition of Bank Atlantic, the Federal Reserve on February 10 wrote to ICP stating

"This concerns your request, dated February 3, 2012, for an extension of the public comment period on the notification... to acquire all the voting securities of BankAtlantic, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a federal savings association. The comment period for the proposal closed on February 3, 2012.Based on all the facts of record, the Secretary of the Board, acting pursuant to authority delegated by the Board (12 CFR 265.5(a)(2)), has determined to extend the period for receiving your comments on issues related to this proposal..."

We'll have more on this.

February 6, 2012

This ICP filed last week on the proposal to acquire BankAtlantic:

BankAtlantic and this proposed transaction are embroiled in scandal. For example and for the record in this timely submission:

"The SEC on Jan. 18 charged Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based BankAtlantic Bancorp and its chairman and CEO, Alan Levan, with misleading investors about escalating problems in one of its significant loan portfolios in 2007. The agency, in a civil lawsuit, charged that the company and Levan made misleading statements in public filings and earnings calls to conceal the deteriorating state of a large portion of the company's commercial residential real estate land acquisition and development portfolio."

"The SEC also charged that the company and Levan committed accounting fraud by scheming to minimize the company's losses on its books by improperly recording loans they were trying to sell from this portfolio in late 2007. According to the complaint, two senior BankAtlantic loan officers described the portfolio to each other in a 2007 email as 'ticking time bombs' and 'explosive piles of crap.'"

"Also, the holders of some of BankAtlantic Bancorp's trust preferred securities continue to challenge the transaction. The company on Jan. 6 received a notice of default from Wells Fargo Bank NA as trustee under the indentures and declarations of trust relating to TruPS of BBC Capital Trust IX and BBC Capital Trust XII."

In the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2010, the most recent year for which aggregate Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data is available, for refinance loans BankAtlantic made 17 loans to whites and NONE to African Americans, denying seven of the eight applications it received from African Americans.

In the Fort Lauderdale MSA in 2010, for refinance loans BankAtlantic made 34 loans to whites and only seven to Latinos and only two to African Americans, denying five of the ten applications it received from African Americans.

On the current record, the merger applications should not be approved.

January 30, 2012

First Niagara Financial Group President and CEO John Koelmel told SNL Financial that the company still plans on closing an additional 30 to 35 branches. We'll see about that...

January 23, 2012

Slowly, too slowly, some pigeons come home to roost.

General Electric, which engaged in predatory lending through WMC, is now reportedly under investigation -- just as it proposes to acquire $7.5 billion in deposits from Met Life.

Royal Bank of Scotland's former boss, Sir Fred "the Shred" Goodwin, faces the loss of his knighthood, after he helped enable predatory lending by securitizing and trading in the loans through RBS Greenwich Capital Markets. PM Cameron said, "There’s a forfeiture committee in terms of honors that exists and it will now examine this issue. I think it’s right that it does so."

Why isn't more being done in the US? Some now say that the time of AG Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, at Covington & Burling that represented the Big Four and other predators plays a role in it - watch this site.

January 16, 2012

As the biggest bank merger of 2012 so far was announced Wednesday, Morgan Keegan for sale to Raymond James for $930 million, Morgan Keegan's recent settlement of subprime related fraud charges was not lost on community activists. Would it be raised to regulator? Why not?

Nickeled and dimed, per even the WSJ: Next month, Toronto Dominion / TD Bank unit will start charging noncustomers a $5 fee to cash checks at any of its branches. PNC now charges $25 to close some accounts.

Customers at Citizens Bank, a unit of Royal Bank of Scotland, now have to pay $50 a month if they fall below minimum account balances on some money-market accounts.

Bank of America charges some of its banking customers a $25 fee if they dip below minimums on premium-checking accounts.

U.S. Bancorp already hits customers with a 99-cent fee to make a mobile deposit.

In December, Citigroup's Citibank unit raised fees on some of its checking accounts. Monthly maintenance fees on the lender's basic-checking accounts jumped to $10 from $8. Also, banking customers have to maintain at least a $1,500 balance, up from zero—or set up direct deposit and pay at least one bill online each month—in order to dodge the fees.

As IMF Spins on Greece & Hedge Funds, No Answers on Ukraine, Sri Lanka

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 13 -- The International Monetary Fund under Christine Lagarde has become even less transparent, answering fewer and fewer press questions.

During the IMF briefing on January 12, the first one in four weeks, Inner City Press submitted four questions, including this: "On Greece, please describe the IMF's engagement with hedge funds asking them to accept a hair cut: are hedge funds reacting differently than banks and what is the IMF doing?"

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice did not posed the hedge fund or the other questions. After the briefing, another IMF spokeswoman wrote to Inner City Press: "We will get back to you on your questions bilaterally Matthew. Gerry had already responded on Greece."

But Gerry Rice had not responded, on Greece, about "private sector" hedge funds. On the afternoon of January 13, the IMF put this out:

"In response to press queries on the talks between Greece and its creditors on private sector involvement (PSI), we are issuing the following line. This is attributable to an IMF spokeswoman:

'We look forward to the resumption of talks between Greece and its creditors. It is important that this lead to a PSI agreement that, together with the efforts of the official sector, ensures debt sustainability.'"

While bland, at least it's a response. Here are the other three questions Inner City Press submitted during the January 12 briefing, which more than 24 hours later have not been answered "bilaterally" or at all:

On Ukraine, what if the relation between that country's negotiations with Russia on gas prices and the IMF resuming talks, after Ukraine passed the bankruptcy legislation it said the IMF wanted? What else would the IMF like to see?

On Sri Lanka, what is the IMF's response to Central Bank Governor Ajit Nivad Cabraal statement on January 3 that Sri Lanka will seek a fresh “follow up or surveillance program” with the IMF as the $2.6 billion loan obtained in 2009 is reportedly due to expire early this year? What is the IMF's thinking on Sri Lanka's failure to fully meet the budget deficit targets and its refusal to devalue the rupee?

On Malawi, please describe the state of the IMF's relations with Malawi, and reviving a program with Malawi, in light of recent statements by President Bingu wa Mutharika against the IMF? (he said on national radio that "Malawian government officials should stop protecting the IMF at the cost of their own citizens.. 'protect the IMF but protect the people' and that of any officials who [a]re unwilling to do so had to resign from their public posts, 'I will be glad to receive your resignation'"?)

During the IMF's briefing in mid December, Inner City Press has submitted another question about Malawi, which also went ignored. The IMF and Africa, under Christine Lagarde? We'll see. Watch this site.

January 9, 2012

Bad karma for the ex-CitiFinancial: talks to sell the bank's OneMain consumer-lending unit to private-equity buyers have ended without a deal in place. Private-equity firms Centerbridge Capital Partners LLC and Leucadia National Corp., along with Berkshire, had been in exclusive talks since the summer to purchase OneMain, which "makes mortgage and other loans to high-risk borrowers." (WSJ)

Yeah: the predatory lending unit...

January 2, 2012

Most coverage has focused on MetLife's reasons for moving to sell deposits. But what about GE's motives for buying, and how that process will go? We'll be there - watch this site.

December 26, 2011

Here is a just filed FOIA appeal:

This is a timely FOIA appeal to the Federal Reserve Board's partial denial of my FOIA request and letter of October 23, 2011 related to the proposed acquisition of US-based Bank of East Asia by the China Investment Corporation, and Central Huijin Investment Limited and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), owned by the Chinese government.

The Fed's response, regular mailed on December 9 -- this appeal is timely -- decides to limit ICP's FOIA request to only the portion related to the Community Reinvestment Act, because Inner City Press mentioned the CRA. And so the White & Case submission of October 17, which ICP was supposed to get under the Fed's rules against ex parte communication, has the responses to items 4, 5 and 6 withheld as "not responsive."

This makes a mockery both of FOIA and of the Fed's rules against ex parte communication. On October 23, Inner City Press submitted including to the Office of the Secretary of the FRB a letter stating in part that

"I filed a timely challenge to the applications involving Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (and its ultimate parent the Chinese government -- since the PRC government is the ultimate controlling shareholder, this letter timely questions why the PRC government is not an applicant here) to acquire 80% of Bank of East Asia. The FRB on October 6 asked ICBC three questions, including one CRA and consumer compliance, and told ICBC to send us a copy, under the rules against ex parte communications... We note that the signatory counsel for the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Bank is the former general counsel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and believe that in this context it is particularly important that the information be provided and a public hearing held. Please send all of the improperly withheld information"

Because ICP gave the example of the withheld CRA response, the Fed decided to ignore ICP's right to the rest of the submission, despite the statement about "all of the improperly withheld information" -- that is, any part of the information ICP should have gotten under the rules against ex parte communication, minus that part explicitly exempt under FOIA.

The Fed is now trying to use "non-responsive" as a way about FOIA, to withhold without even citing a FOIA exemption. It is an outrage, and on appeal ALL of the applicants' October 17 submission should be released.

December 19, 2011

"We are carefully examining recent legislative proposals with respect to the central bank," the IMF's Hawley said. "Any erosion of central bank independence would be of great concern." From the IMF transcript:

HAWLEY: "a question from Matthew Lee at Inner-City Press on Hungary. His question is How would relations and a program with the IMF be impacted by the prime minister's announced plan to assert control over the central bank and demote its president? I can answer that by saying that we are carefully examining the recent legislative proposals with respect to the central bank and erosion of central bank independence would be of great concern."

It's worth noting that one proposal, to combine central bank functions with bank regulation, is already the case at the US Federal Reserve, which the IMF does not criticize.

Inner City Press also asked, "now that the South Sudan National Legislative Assembly on Dec. 13 voted to join the IMF, what are the next steps and what can the IMF do for South Sudan?"

While that vote only took place December 13, Hawley said that the work to make South Sudan a full member of the IMF is "well advanced," even that the IMF has a "resident adviser in the country." From the IMF transcript:

HAWLEY: "Matthew Lee of Inner-City Press notes that South Sudan intends to join the IMF and what are the next steps and what can the IMF do for South Sudan? Discussions or work on South Sudan becoming a full member of the IMF are well advanced. South Sudan's main challenges are maintaining economic stability, investing its oil resources wisely in social and infrastructure development and to build an environment and institutions to support sustained economic development. In terms of what we're doing to support these policy goals, we're stepping up on our technical policy advice in areas where the Fund has expertise and we have a resident adviser now in the country."

But at the December 15 IMF briefing, Hawley was asked when Managing Director Lagarde will make herself available for questions from those covering the IMF, with the complaint made that she has hardly been available since she took over in June. Hawley said this would be "taken on board." We'll see.

Bad karma: Bank of New York Mellon moved to evict Occupy Pittsburgh from "its" park. Will there be repercussions?

First Niagara's recent capital raise have been aimed at curtailing uncertainty around the stock as it continues to work on divesting some of the branches it is seeking approval to acquire from its branch deal with HSBC. FBR Capital Markets analyst Bob Ramsey told SNL Financial that, while the company will look to maximize the value of any deals, it will likely sell the branches in three transactions. The bidders could include larger companies, such as M&T Bank Corp. and KeyCorp, with upstate New York operations, Ramsey said. Smaller companies could potentially be the buyers, such as De Witt, N.Y.-based Community Bank System Inc., but he wondered whether they would have the capital to make the acquisitions. So do we...

UNITED NATIONS, December 1 -- On Yemen, the International Monetary Fund kept meeting with Ali Saleh officials even as his government killed protesters. On December 1, Inner City Press asked the IMF, "with Ali Saleh's signature of the deal, what is the IMF's thinking and plans for the country? Whom in Yemen has the IMF spoken with and when?"

"on your question on Yemen, the IMF welcomes the signing of the agreement, which we hope will bring the crisis to an end. The agreement involves a formation of a new government that we look forward to working with. We understand that the new government will put in place an economic stabilization plan as per the GCC agreement, and we stand ready to support such a plan with an IMF-supported program if the new government wishes to reengage with the IMF."

Back on March 31, Inner City Press asked then-IMF spokesperson Caroline Atkinson (now with the Obama administration)

“On Yemen, please describe IMF's engagement with current gov't after Ghazi Shbeikat's talks earlier this month, and any impact its killing of protesters has had.”

Ms. Atkinson translated this to “I have a question online about Yemen: Please describe the IMF’s engagement with the current government after talks earlier this month and any impact the violence has had.”

The violence -- that is, the killing of protesters -- has been so bad even Yemen's Permanent Representative to the UN Abduallah Alsaidi, former head of the Group of 77 and China, has quit. Here was Ms. Atkinson's (first) answer:

“Of course, in Yemen, Syria, and other cases we deplore any violence and we hope for peaceful resolution of political issues–We have a program actually outstanding with Yemen and there have been contacts at a technical level with the central bank monitoring developments.

Then on April 28, Inner City Press asked the IMF's David Hawley to “describe the IMF's interface with Syria and Yemen, and how the crackdowns there may impact that, and how they are viewed by the IMF.”

Hawley said that the IMF's program with Yemen are “on hold in the current situation,” and then referred to comments by IMF Middle East and Central Asia director Masood Ahmed -- who is the one who said, the previous day in Dubai, that the IMF is “ready to work with the Yemeni authorities... once the situation allows.”

Did that mean a reduction in violence -- which could be brought about, at least theoretically, by MORE repression rather than less -- or the exit of Saleh? The IMF didn't say.

And now, after what's called the immunity deal, the IMF stands ready. We'll continue on this - watch this site.

Footnote: The IMF had not had a press briefing for four weeks, but still on the morning of December 1 its web page did not list any press briefing. Too late, despite monitoring the web page, Inner City Press found out about a briefing, submitted the question about and a request for "an explanation of the lack of IMF web page notice of this morning's briefing."

There was at least a response to the Yemen question, above. But nothing on the other. Watch this site.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group bragged on Dec 1 that the Reserve Bank of India would allow the transfer of its retail and commercial businesses in India to HSBC. "We continue to work closely with HSBC and the regulators to complete the transfer in a manner that is in the best interests of our clients and employees," a Royal Bank of Scotland spokesman said. The WSJ said The statement follows media reports flagging potential roadblocks to the deal from India's central bank. There OUGHT to be roadblocks...

A BankAtlantic Bancorp investor has filed a lawsuit to block the sale of BankAtlantic to BB&T. The suit, filed the complaint in Delaware's Chancery Court, claims the deal allows BB&T to "unlawfully cherry-pick" assets and that the two sides structured the deal with a "flagrant disregard" for BankAtlantic investors. There are CRA problems too...

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, both of Tokyo, Japan Continue to increase their ownership interest to 9.9 percent of the voting shares of The Bank of East Asia, Limited, Hong Kong S.A.R., Peoples Republic of China, Continue

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, both of Tokyo, Japan and thereby indirectly increase their interest in The Bank of East Asia (U.S.A.), N.A., New York, New York 3 New York 12/09/2011

Belatedly and not enough, First Niagara and the Department of Justice have come to a deal on the divestiture of branches acquired from HSBC. (First Niagara agreed July 31 to acquire 195 branches. Under the deal, First Niagara will divest 26 branches in Erie, Niagara and Orleans counties in upstate New York. Most of the branches that will be sold are in Erie County, in which Buffalo is located. First Niagara will sell 18 branches there, seven in Niagara County and one in Orleans.

Troublingly, First Niagara will not be divesting a majority of the branches and deposits that it is acquiring in the HSBC deal. In the three counties affected by the divestiture order, First Niagara is acquiring 59 branches and $5.30 billion in deposits. The company will keep 55.9% of the branches in those counties and 69.0% of deposits. We'll see -- watch this site.

Rabobank Admits Subprime Exposure & Purchase of Failed Banks, Desjardins on Citi Deal

UNITED NATIONS, October 31 -- When the UN scheduled a press conference Monday entitled "Financial Crisis and Cooperative Banks," it was expected that the two cooperative banks invited to speak would be akin to the credit unions being praised in the Occupy Wall Street movement, in opposition to big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

But on the UN podium was the chairman of Dutch multinational Rabobank, Mr. Piet Moerland. Inner City Press asked him about protests to Rabobank in the United States, complete with mariachi bands and complaints of discriminating against small borrowers, and also about Rabobank's statements that it was "exposed" to subprime lending in the US. Video here, from Minute 26:05.

Moerland replied that Rabobank had to expand outside of The Netherlands because of its small population, and that the US is its most important non-Dutch market. He acknowledged the exposure to subprime lending, calling it "indirect," but bragged that Rabobank grew from 30 billion Euros in 2006 up to 40 billion Euros.

He said in the US it's made purchases "at the request of the FDIC" - that is, of failed banks. Apparently, Rabobank has profited from the global financial crisis. Moerland said that in California, Rabobank is "about half way there." We'll see.

Why such a multinational bank would be presented at the UN as the poster child of the cooperative movement, a topic on which former UK prime minister Gordon Brown speechified to the General Assembly later on Monday, is not clear.

Smaller but similarly mystifying was the presence of Canada's Desjardins Group. Its CEO Monique Leroux said that before growing outside of Canada -- it already has a presence in Florida in the US -- or making other expansions, it would speak with its people.

Inner City Press asked about a recent Desjardins deal with Citigroup and Staples, to buy a credit card portfolio. Did Desjardins check with its depositors before that business transaction? Ms. Leroux referred back to a 2009 meeting at which business lines were agreed to. After that, it seems, it's just business.

Old MF Global Holdings, having tried to suck up to JPMorgan and Barclays, is now rumored to be an acquisition target for not only Goldman Sachs but also State Street Corp. and Macquarie Group. Problematizing any soft landing might be target for Occupy Wall Street...

WALL STREET, October 22 -- As it got colder in Lower Manhattan on October 22 the Occupy Wall Street meeting of the General Assembly considered a proposal for a people's tribunal against Goldman Sachs, for November 3. While other proposals were confronted by blocks, a form of quasi veto, this one passed by consensus.

Meanwhile the former CEO of Citibank blathered that the Occupiers should forget about the past and just look forward -- triggering responses that one should be this logic empty out the prisons.

Bank of America was described as moving risky derivative into its FDIC-insured bank, putting the American people further at risk.

Goldman itself defunded its previous fundee, the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union -- where Inner City Press has been a customer -- because it dared invited OWS to one of its events.

Occupy Wall Street Visits JPMorgan Chase with Police, Goldman & Capital One Next?

WALL STREET, October 12 -- On a blustery Wednesday afternoon in Lower Manhattan, a crowd gathered in front of JPMorgan Chase, blocked off by police.

At first it first no larger than past symbolic protests in front of Chase Manhattan Plaza. Then a phalanx of marchers came from Zuccotti Park out on Broadway, also contained by police. Occupy Wall Street had arrived. Click here for video by Inner City Press.

When JP Morgan and Chase Manhattan merged, community groups challenged them for "redlining" poor neighborhoods like the South Bronx, and even sued. In the case by Inner City Press about the merger, Morgan Chase tried as a Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit to get its extensive attorneys fees paid. It failed, but received a massive bailout.

Still escape direct protest is Goldman Sachs. "How do you get your hands around them?" one protester asked Inner City Press. How indeed.

Goldman underwrote many of the predatory mortgage bonds that led to the crisis, then got more bailout funds than anyone. But it gives campaign contributions to both parties, including through its executives to President Obama when he travels to New York. We will continue on this.

Another example of big bank nepotism and sleaze: "Former Bank of America Corp. executive Sallie Krawcheck will receive $6 million after leaving the bank following a management reshuffle last month." Somewhere Sandy Weill is laughing....

As Police Arrest Occupy Wall Street Protesters, Focus on Banks, Benghazi Analogy?

BROOKLYN BRIDGE, October 1 -- As drizzle fell on the Brooklyn Bridge and the East River beneath it, the New York Police Department took protesters off the bridge, their hands restrained behind their backs, in busses with signs that said "Out of Service" and "Promotional Bus."

The Occupy Wall Street protesters continue to gather steam, even as most of the media has ignored them, or mocked them for not having a single message.

Signs clasped to the fence of Bloomberg's City Hall said, "No Bail Outs" and "Too Big Too Fail means Too Big To Allow."

Despite the size of the bailouts and the lack of criminal prosecution for predatory lending, there has until now been little direct fightback. Now there is, and the police are out in force.

"Obama's moved so far to the right," a protester complained, staring as if hyponotized into the swirling squad car lights.

At the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, Inner City Press was pushed back by a phalanx of police. A protester yelled, Are you all getting overtime? The answer was yes.

A young woman said she had come to the bridge "straight from Slut Walk," another event in Union Square. The talk in the crowd was that those arrested a second time weren't getting bail.

The analogy to non-violent protests this year in Cairo and Tunis and Benghazi and Homs is dismissed by some staid foreign correspondents. But the energy is not dissimilar, and response is moving at least directionally toward similarity too. Watch this site.

Occupy Wall Street Target JPMorgan Paid Police Monitors, Paid Blair for Occupied Palestine

"JPMorgan Chase recently donated an unprecedented $4.6 million to the New York City Police Foundation. The gift was the largest in the history of the foundation and will enable the New York City Police Department to strengthen security in the Big Apple. The money will pay for 1,000 new patrol car laptops, as well as security monitoring software in the NYPD's main data center."

Given that the protests are largely directed that bailouts to and abuse of the political system by JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and prospectively Capital One, it is certainly relevant, and to many troubling, that the police take money from the very target of the protest.

The police will use the money for laptops and "security monitoring software" - would that target the anonymizer app Vibe that's emerged, created by Hazem "White Hat" Sayed?

Ray Kelly, widely touted as a candidate to replace Michael Bloomberg as Mayor, offered his "profound gratitude" to JPM Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Will this relationship and the mass arrests be explained?

And what of the use of MTA busses to arrest protesters, as photographed by Inner City Press in its story last night? On Sunday morning, Inner City Press asked the Transit Workers Union Local 100 for its comment and what it will do. Watch this site.

JP Morgan Chase stands accused of improper involvement not only in New York City policing, but in corrupting the Middle East peace process through UN envoy Tony Blair, who is also a JP Morgan consultant.

On Friday, September 30 Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky:

Inner City Press: I am sure you’ve seen these stories of late about Tony Blair. Often you’ll say, speak to Tony Blair. It’s not that easy to do, as you might imagine. So I wanted to ask the UN side of it. These articles are saying that increasing questions have arisen about the double service of Tony Blair for J.P.Morgan as a consultant and as the Middle East peace envoy. And they point to particular deals around cell phones... I don’t expect the UN to say anything anti-Blair, but what is the UN’s role in reviewing those conflicts of interest? Is there a kind of review that’s done for other UN officials to view whether the outside activities or other activities of Tony Blair conflict with what he does for the UN system?

Spokesperson Martin Nesirky: Well, as we have said before, Tony Blair is the Quartet envoy. He is the Representative of the Quartet. He is not the UN envoy in the Quartet. That is not his role, okay? And so, I think you’re knocking on the wrong door here.

Inner City Press: who does the review of whether there is a conflict of interest? Is it just up to Tony Blair himself or is there some, does the Quartet have some secretariat or administrative body to review these charges?

Spokesperson: Well, I think you’d need to check with, first of all, I think it’s right, you could certainly check with Tony Blair’s office in the first instance. But, also of course, you could check with the other participants in the Quartet, as well. But, just to be clear, it’s not a UN role.

So JP Morgan Chase with its money can corrupt the UN Middle East process -- then say "it's not a UN role." And the bank can pay the New York police, which mass arrests those protesting its bailout. What's next? Watch this site.

So at UBS a "rogue" trader burned over $2 billion, and not much of a peep yet from the regulators including the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, Bank of America look move to sell its correspondent banking business.

Now First Niagara says that "in September" it will announce to whom it would sell of HSBC branches, it's allowed to acquire them. What a Rube Goldberg of a transaction. It will be opposed.

So Bank of America denies it plans to close 600 branches. OK - how many does it plan to close?

In Lebanon, Société Générale de Banque au Liban, said Sept. 9 that it gained final approval from the Central Bank of Lebanon to acquire the assets and liabilities of Lebanese Canadian Bank. The acquisition will raise the unit's total assets to $11 billion, its deposits to $8.6 billion and its loans to $3 billion. The bank will also take over Lebanese Canadian Bank's 35 branches, which will come under the unit's signage. Consequently, the unit will operate a total of 101 branches....

Wells Fargo is moving to settle in Memphis just the type of racially discriminatory predatory lending and foreclosure charges that it has previously bragged about beating in court, for example in Baltimore. We'll be watching this -- and another big bank, next week. Watch this site.

What does the FDIC consider before selling off a bank? According to SNL Financial, "Evansville, Ind.-based Old National Bancorp on Aug. 26 revealed plans to close nine branches of failed Integra Bank NA and consolidate them into other branches of the failed bank as part of an ongoing assessment that could eventually lead to more consolidations. Old National acquired the Evansville-based bank July 29, after it was shuttered by the OCC. Effective Sept. 30, Old National will close nine of Integra Bank's 52 branches. Five of the failed bank's Evansville branches will be closed, along with one branch in Mt. Vernon, Ill. In Kentucky, Old National will shutter one branch in Madisonville and transfer the accounts to another Madisonville location. The company will also close one branch each in Clay and Poole in Kentucky, transferring the accounts to branches in Providence, Ky., and Sebree, Ky., respectively." These transaction are done without public comment. But what does the FDIC consider?

In a marriage of sleaze earlier this month, Spartanburg, S.C.-based Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc. said it agreed to purchase for $45.6 million Atlanta-based CompuCredit Holdings Corp.'s retail storefront consumer finance business -- approximately 300 locations in nine states...

The proposal from HSBC to transfer 195 branches to First Niagara is even worse that it first looked, based only on First Niagara's weak CRA program that led to its last acquisition, of NewAlliance in Connecticut, being protested from nearly all of First Niagara's communities. Now First Niagara says that of the 195, it would closed 33, and try to sell off 67. Can any regulator accept such a disruptive and cynical "middleman" transaction? It will be opposed...

Beyond the fair lending violations at and consumer abuse by Capital One, ING is being investigated for violating sanctions and doing business in Sudan, Cuba and Iran. This is being raised - watch this site.

Serial acquirer First Niagara, opposed by community groups and local elected officials on its recent deal in for New Alliance in New Haven, now seeks to pay $1 billion to buy 195 Northeast branches from HSBC, mainly in Upstate New York, held approximately $15.0 billion in deposits and $15.0 billion in gross assets as of May 31. First Niagara will pick up 183 branches in Upstate New York, four branches in northern Westchester County, N.Y., two branches in Putnam County, N.Y., and six branches in Connecticut. HSBC said it will be consolidating approximately 13 branches located in Connecticut and New Jersey into nearby HSBC branches by the first quarter of 2012, subject to regulatory approval. We'll be there - watch this site.

“Banco do Brasil projects to have a network of up to 20 branches and 400,000 new customers in the U.S. in five years, the executive told the news agency. The prospective EuroBank acquisition is subject to approval” - and yeah, not so fast...

HSBC is putting up for sale not only its credit cards -- Capital One and Wells are the touted bidders -- but also branches, with M&T, First Niagara and Key in competition. This would clearly close a lot of branches: they should (have to) compete on that. Watch this site.

When Christine Lagarde appeared on July 10 on the Amanpour show on ABC, she said that her ethics test is what her mother would say was okay. Amanpour then didn't ask her, what would maman say about l'affaire Bernard Tapie? Bad journalism.

Brazilian federal prosecutors based in Rio de Janeiro have initiated a lawsuit against three major banks for alleged irregularities in charging of client fees between 2008 and 2010, the prosecutors said in a statement last week. The three banks are HSBC, Santander and Itau-Unibanco, Brazil's largest bank by assets...

"We have a hard time seeing a settlement with fines in the $20 billion to $25 billion range, as originally discussed," the analysts said. "We think that it will have much lower penalties than originally proposed, if it happens at all." -- Bank of America's $8.5 billion settlement with 22 mortgage investors may sharply reduce or eliminate penalties against the largest U.S. mortgage servicers under investigation by the states' attorneys general, according to Amherst Securities Group. The size of the settlement with Bank of America, the largest servicer of U.S. mortgages, and mandates to improve how the institution treats loans in default will make it harder for the attorneys general to find consensus, according to a client note Thursday from Amherst.

Inner City Press: 1) it shouldn't buy BofA out of the other problems. 2) the AGs let their thunder be stolen...

A potential acquirer for BNP Paribas' Bank of the West has now been named: US Bancorp. We'll see. Consumers and analysis have heaped scorn on Capital One's proposal to buy ING Direct. Even from a purely financial point of view, it's said to only make sense if Capital One intends on another acquisition, for example of HSBC's credit card business, the kind HSBC acquired along with the predatory Household International. But there's a $270 million break-up fee in the Capital One deal, and ING will not want to pay it. Game on.

UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- With the International Monetary Fund refusing to answer or even acknowledge questions about its consideration of programs from Afghanistan through Belarus to South Sudan, set for independence on July 9, it seems the arrest and resignation of Dominique Strauss Kahn, the two candidate race to replace him and a recent hacking scandal have distracted the IMF.

When the IMF on Thursday morning held its first press briefing in two weeks, the questions largely related to the race between Christine Lagarde of France and Agustin Carstens of Mexico to replace DSK. Two questions, one online and the other in-person, concerned the IMF getting hacked. Deputy spokesman David Hawley said that “files were copied,” but deferred other answers.

Inner City Press submitted as it has in the past four questions by the IMF's online briefing center. In the past at least some questions have been answered, about Sudan and less frequently Sri Lanka.

With South Sudan set to declare independence on July 9, what is the status of the IMF's consideration of South Sudan, including in light of Sudanese president Omar al Bashir's threat to cut off the pipelines that takes South Sudan's oil to market?

Afghan authorities have complained about negotiations with IMF. On Afghanistan, can you state the status of and explain IMF's requirement that shareholders not have any management role in Afghan banks, given that this is allowed in the US, for example?

In terms of the IMF's research budget, some have questioned whether the IMF at times censors the conclusions of research. Is that true, and if so how does the IMF respond to the criticism?

In Belarus, will the new arrests of protesters in the last days have any impact on the IMF's consideration of Belarus' request for an IMF program?

Nor in the half hour between Hawley saying “there are no more questions” -- which wasn't true -- and the expiration of the embargo were any of the four questions answered. Previously the IMF has been asked about gift filings by its top officials, and hasn't answered. Oh, transparency.

It's looking as of this writing on June 19 like PNC will be the applicant to buy Royal Bank of Canada's 400 US branches, the old Centura Bank. And the BNP Paribas will be under pressure, due to its exposure to Greece, to sell off its US operations.

Meanwhile we can report: after the challenge to Comerica - Sterling, they have been unable to meet their goal of closing in the second quarter. Watch this site.

UNITED NATIONS, June 9 -- Without a managing director, without transparency and seemingly without regard to human rights, the International Monetary Fund is negotiating with Belarus about a loan larger than the $3 billion the Russians lent, conditioned on privatization to Russian firms.

During the IMF's bi-weekly briefing on June 9, Inner City Press submitted this question:

“On Belarus, what is the IMF's thinking after Russia cut electrical supply this week, after crackdown on online protests and long sentences to political opponents, and what does the IMF say that to require privatization would be serving Russian buyers of Belarus assets