Welcome to Inner City Press’ CRA Report. Our other Reporters cover the financial services industry, human rights, the Federal Reserve, and other beats. ICP has published a book about the CRA-relevant topic of predatory lending - click here for sample chapters, a map, and ordering information. CBS MarketWatch of April 23, 2004, says the the novel has "some very funny moments," and that the non-fiction mixes "global statistics and first-person accounts." The Washington Post of March 15, 2004, calls Predatory Bender: America in the Aughts "the first novel about predatory lending;" the London Times of April 15, 2004, "A Novel Approach," said it "has a cast of colorful characters." See also, "City Lit: Roman a Klepto [Review of 'Predatory Bender']," City Limits, Oct. 2004. The Pittsburgh City Paper says the 100-page afterword makes the "indispensable point that predatory lending is now being aggressively exported to the rest of the globe." Click here for that review; click here to Search This Site Click here for Inner City Press' weekday news reports, from the United Nations and elsewhere.
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See, in November 2021, Inner City Press' book "Belt and Roadkill,"
here
June
5 2023
First Republic Given to JPM Chase amid Dimon Epstein Link now Closes 21 Branches Cites Cars
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
FEDERAL
COURTHOUSE, June 2 – After the failures of
Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in New
York, now it's First Republic Bank.
At 3 am Eastern time on May 1, the First
Republic (and $13 billion) was given to JPMorgan
Chase, which is already over the "maximum" 10%
of US deposits threshold - and whose CEO Jamie
Dimon has been ordered deposed about his
knowledge of, and link to, the pedophile
conspiracy of Jeffrey Epstein. It's come to
this.
The JPM Chase
complaint is on Patreon, here.
On
June 1, it was
reported that JPMorgan
Chase will shut 21
branches of First Republic
Bank by the end of the
year as it integrates the
failed lender into its
operations, a JPMorgan
spokesperson said. 'These
locations have relatively
low transaction volumes
and are generally within a
short drive from another
First Republic office,' the
spokesperson said." Of
course, in urban areas
underserved by Chase, most people don't
have cars...
On March 20, 2023 U.S.
District Court for
the Southern District
of New York Judge
Jed S. Rakoff in a
bottom line order
dismissed some but
not all claims,
in the Epstein-related
cases against
JPMC and Deutsche
Bank.
***
May
29, 2023
After SBA Fraud Trial of Shin Noah Bank Got Bank of Princeton To Buy It Despite Ongoing Issues
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Video, Alamy
photos
Federal
Court / S Bronx, May 21 – Noah Bank's Edward
Shin was on arrested for defrauding the U.S.
Small Business Administration on May 29, 2019
and would, it was said, be presented later on
May 29 before Magistrate
Judge James L. Cott in the
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York.
Inner
City Press after reporting the arrest
went the SDNY Magistrate's Courtroom 5A and
was told Shin would be
presented at
some undefined
later hours.
But with the door
to 5A locked at 4:30 pm,
Inner City Press was told
Shin "has not been
presented, there are no conditions
agreed to."
Jump cut to
April 25,
2022. The case
was
re-assigned to
Judge John P.
Cronan, who has set trial
for April 26.
On the eve of it
the US put in
SBA
documents
about loans
to produce
companies,
offering to
redact
some.
On
October 6, 2022,
Judge Cronan
sentenced Shin
to 14 months "in
prison for his
role in
defrauding a
Pennsylvania-based
bank (the
“Bank”) while
serving as its
CEO.
SHIN was
convicted
after a
three-week
trial before
U.S. District
Judge John P.
Cronan on all
counts, which
charged SHIN
with taking
bribes in
connection
with the
Bank’s
issuance of
loans that
were
guaranteed by
the United
States Small
Business
Administration
Judge Cronan
sentenced SHIN
to three years
of supervised
release and
ordered SHIN
to pay
forfeiture in
the amount of
$5,506,050 and
a $600 special
assessment
fee."
On
October 14,
the US
Attorney's
Office wrote
to Judge
Cronan "to
inform the Court
that that
Government has
consulted
with Noah
Bank; the Bank
is no longer
seeking
restitution in
light of its settlement
with the defendant."
May
22, 2023
Amid Bank Meltdowns Yellen Says Bring on the Mergers But Silent on CRA and Public Input
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, March 14 – Alongside the
flame-out of Silicon Valley
Bank, New York-based
Signature Bank too failed. On
Signature Bank's board of
directors were
not only Barney Frank (who
after leaving Congress
undermine his own Dodd Frank
Act) but also former New York
State Superintendent of Banks
Derrick D. Cephas.
Now
after the failure (and
give-away to JPMorgan Chase) of First
Republic, at the G7
Janet Yellen has
said, "I anticipate
regulators to be
open to increased
mergers among
regional banks in
current banking
environment."
It is not mere
speculation - Yellen
is the boss of
the Treasury's
Office of the
Comptroller of
the Currency,
and of the
Administration's
appointees at
the Fed and
FDIC.
So, bringing
on the mergers
- with
Community
Reinvestment
Act review and
public input be damned!
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Story
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
FEDERAL
COURT / S Bronx, May 13 – Whether or not the
U.S. Community Reinvestment Act will be again
enforced until the new Administration and its
regulators remains an open question.
This has become even more true in t 2023, with
regulators under fire for misregulation of the
failing banks, and of handing them over to mega
banks like JPM Chase. Hence Janet Yellen
has promised "openness" to mergers of midsized
(and presumably small) banks. Let the rubber
stamping begin!
This
perhaps explains the industry press
hand-wringing about the failure of some mergers
subject to CRA protest, largely by Fair Finance
Watch. In May 2023, there's MVB bank, here.
Back in August 22: "Matthew Lee, Esq. Fair Finance Watch P.O. Box 20047 New York City, New York 10017 Re: MapleMark Bank’s Application to Acquire Oakwood Bank Dear Mr. Lee, We are writing to inform you that MapleMark Bank, Dallas, Texas, withdrew its application to acquire and merge with Oakwood Bank, Dallas, Texas. Please note that we will perform any necessary follow-up of the concerns you raised as part of our consumer compliance and Community Reinvestment Act examination programs. We appreciate your concerns and value community input into the application process." Yeah.
Fair Finance Watch with Inner City Press on the FOIA filed comments with the Federal Deposit Insurance Company to a proposed merger involving a bank subject to a rare CRA condition: Oakwood Bank in Dallas, and MapleMark BankMay
15, 2023
Protest of MBV Leads To Merger Failure and Uncorrected Lies about Activist Investor
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon MVB File
SOUTH
BRONX NY, May 13 – Alongside the
wrongdoing by big banks from JPMorgan Chase to
KeyCorp, there are other also dubious proposed
merger by smaller banks and predators.
Fair Finance Watch is on the lookout, with Inner City Press on the FOIA, and filed this sample on MVB Bank:
Dear
Chair Powell, Secretary Misback and others in
the FRS: This is a request for
a full copy of, and a timely first comment on,
the Applications of MVB Financial Corp.,
Fairmont, West Virginia; to acquire Integrated
Financial Holdings, Inc., Raleigh, North
Carolina, and thereby indirectly acquire West
Town Bank & Trust, North Riverside,
Illinois, and acquire voting shares of West Town
Payments, LLC, Raleigh, North Carolina, "and
more."
Fair
Finance Watch has been reviewing West Town Bank
including its 2021 HMDA data not taken into
account in any CRA exam and finds it troubling.
FFW in looking into MVB Bank find its offers of
banking for gaming, but for CRA questions, not
even an email address, only a snail mail
address. This is not a best practice, far from
it.
In terms of HMDA data, in 2021, West Town Bank
made 319 mortgage loans to whites with seven
denials. Meanwhile to African Americans it made
only TWENTY FIVE loans, while denying five
applications. A referral should be made to the
DOJ for fair lending
violations. MVB,
proposing to buy West Town Bank including its
hemp lending, is engaged in gaming lending,
fintechs - but has not put its CRA file online
or even available by emailing."
Since filing, MVB provided Fair Finance Watch
with what it calls its 271-page CRA file (for
some reason, only "as of April 2022") which we
put on DocumentCloud here
to make it public as all CRA files should be,
and the Fed has now informed Inner City Press
that MVB withdrew its application.
MVB
was quoted, lying, that it was because of "an
activist investor" challenging the CRA rating:
"Larry Mazza, CEO of the $3.6 billion-asset MVB
Financial, said in an interview Wednesday that
"a activist investor in IFHI had challenged the
company's Community Reinvestment Act rating.
With regulators exceptionally busy managing the
regional bank failures, MVB and IFHI determined
it could prove difficult to resolve that matter
efficiently." The publication never fact-checked
Mezza. We'll have more on this.
***
May
8, 2023
First Republic Given to JPM Chase by FDIC Despite Antitrust and Dimon Epstein Link
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
FEDERAL
COURTHOUSE, May 1 – After the failures of
Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in New
York, now it's First Republic Bank.
At 3 am Eastern time on May 1, the First
Republic (and $13 billion) was given to JPMorgan
Chase, which is already over the "maximum" 10%
of US deposits threshold - and whose CEO Jamie
Dimon has been ordered deposed about his
knowledge of, and link to, the pedophile
conspiracy of Jeffrey Epstein. It's come to
this.
The JPM Chase
complaint is on Patreon, here.
On March 20, 2023 U.S.
District Court for
the Southern District
of New York Judge
Jed S. Rakoff in a
bottom line order
dismissed some but
not all claims,
in the Epstein-related
cases against
JPMC and Deutsche
Bank.
***
May
1, 2023
First Republic Searches For Savior But KeyCorp Can't Get a Handout for Disinvestment
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
FEDERAL
COURTHOUSE, April 26 – Key Bank is in decline,
in consumer compliance and in fair lending - and
now, in deposits and stock price.
Faring worse, at least for now, is First
Republic. The talk is of a bailout or forced
sale. But to whom?
With the US bank regulators giving away troubled
banks, Silicon Valley Bank to First Citizens,
and Signature Bank to NYCB, it is imperative
they know the Key Bank cannot be given any more
branches, any more communities to take advantage
of. Already, Key has government contract to
distribute benefits, and garnish wages.
Fair Finance Watch, looking at Key Bank's 2021
lending at first in New York State, notes that
while Key Bank made 7916 mortgage loans to
whites, with 1733 denials, it made only 266
loans to African Americans, with fully 140
denial. It should be sued by the
Department of Justice, and many others - just
ask NCRC.
Key Bank is, Fair Finance Watch now says, the
Key to Disinvestment. It is the redlining bank.
Reporting
from and on the Federal courts, Inner City Press
has noticed a slew of data breach cases filed
against KeyCorp, since August 2022, now moving
toward a multi-district consolidation - in
February 2023 to the Northern District of
Georgia, to the Honorable Steven D.
Grimberg.
In amateur response, KeyBank on February 7 bragged on the for-pay CSR Wire about grants it is giving out. But how do they compare to the lending promises Key made, and broke? Watch this site
***
April
24, 2023
Key Falls So As US Banks Being Handed Out KeyCorp Can't Get a Handout for Disinvestment
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
FEDERAL
COURTHOUSE, April 20 – Key Bank is in decline,
in consumer compliance and in fair lending - and
now, in deposits and stock price.
On April 20 KeyCorp underperformed the estimate,
with deposits down year on year; its price fell.
If only investors knew how much worse it is.
With the US bank regulators giving away troubled
banks, Silicon Valley Bank to First Citizens,
and Signature Bank to NYCB, it is imperative
they know the Key Bank cannot be given any more
branches, any more communities to take advantage
of. Already, Key has government contract to
distribute benefits, and garnish wages.
Fair Finance Watch, looking at Key Bank's 2021
lending at first in New York State, notes that
while Key Bank made 7916 mortgage loans to
whites, with 1733 denials, it made only 266
loans to African Americans, with fully 140
denial. It should be sued by the
Department of Justice, and many others - just
ask NCRC.
Key Bank is, Fair Finance Watch now says, the
Key to Disinvestment. It is the redlining bank.
Reporting
from and on the Federal courts, Inner City Press
has noticed a slew of data breach cases filed
against KeyCorp, since August 2022, now moving
toward a multi-district consolidation - in
February 2023 to the Northern District of
Georgia, to the Honorable Steven D.
Grimberg.
In amateur response, KeyBank on February 7 bragged on the for-pay CSR Wire about grants it is giving out. But how do they compare to the lending promises Key made, and broke? Watch this site
***
April
17, 2023
Prosperity Bank Hit by CRA Challenge to FirstCapital Bank now FDIC Condition Imposed
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
FEDERAL COURT /
S Bronx, April 10 –
Whether or not the U.S. Community Reinvestment
Act will be again enforced under this
Administration and its regulators including
under the incoming divided Congress is an open
question.
On November 25, 2022 Fair Finance Watch with
Inner City Press on the FOIA filed comments with
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
against
the
applications
by Prosperity
Bank in Texas.
In April 2023,
the FDIC
imposed
conditions,
see below.
November
25, 2022
Federal
Deposit
Insurance
Corporation
Attn: Chairman
Martin J.
Gruenberg
Dallas Kristie
K. Elmquist,
Regional
Director Julie
V. Banfield,
Deputy
Regional
Director Chris
Finnegan,
Assistant
Regional
Director
(Consumer
Protection)
1601 Bryan
Street, 38th
Floor Dallas,
Texas
75201-4586
Re:
Comment on
Applications
by Prosperity
Bank, El
Campo, Texas
to acquire
Lone Star Bank
of West Texas
and
FirstCapital
Bank of Texas,
N.A.
Dear
Chairman
Gruenberg,
Regional
Director
Elmquist,
Ass't Regional
Director
Finnegan and
others at the
FDIC:
This is a
request for
all
information in
the possession
of the FDIC
about, and a
timely comment
on, the
Applications
of Prosperity
Bank, El
Campo, Texas
to acquire
Lone Star Bank
of West Texas
and
FirstCapital
Bank of Texas,
N.A. which
appear on the
FDIC website
under
"Applications
In Process
Subject to the
CRA Report"
with an
initial
comment
periods
running
through
December 16.
This comment
is
timely.
The applicant
Prosperity
Bank in 2021
in Texas based
on its
disparate
marketing made
5453 mortgage
loans to
whites --
while making
only 188 loans
to African
Americans.
Meanwhile it
denied fully
94
applications
from African
Americans,
versus only
1186 from
whites. This
is far out of
keeping with
the
demographics,
and others
lenders, in
Texas in
particularly
in Prosperity
Bank's CRA
assessment
areas - this
is
outrageous.
The applicant
Prosperity
Bank in 2021
in Oklahoma
based on its
disparate
marketing made
320 mortgage
loans to
whites --
while making
only 38 loans
to African
Americans.
This is far
out of keeping
with the
demographics,
and others
lenders, in
Oklahoma in
particularly
in Prosperity
Bank's CRA
assessment
areas - this
is
outrageous.
Very Truly
Yours,
Matthew Lee,
Esq.
Executive
Director
Inner City
Press/Fair
Finance Watch
On
April 6, sent
April 10, the
FDIC imposed
this
condition:
"After a
careful review
of the
concerns, the
FDIC decided
to approve the
application
with the
following
condition.
This condition
will help
ensure the
home mortgage
lending needs
of African
American
populations in
Prosperity
Bank’s
assessment
areas are met.
Enhance the
bank’s Fair
Lending Action
Plan (Plan)
adopted by the
Board of
Directors of
Prosperity
Bank and
submit changes
to the FDIC
for approval
within 60 days
of the
application
approval date.
The Plan
updates and
revisions, as
applicable,
should provide
strategies to
improve the
volume of home
mortgage
applications
from, and
originations
to African
American
applicants
within each of
the designated
assessment
areas
established in
Texas. The
Plan should
also provide
strategies to
improve the
volume of home
mortgage
applications
from, and
originations
in
majority-minority
census tracts
and
majority-Hispanic
tracts within
designated
assessment
areas in
Texas. The
enhancements
should be
developed in
the context of
available
demographic
data, as well
as safe and
sound lending
considerations,
and provide
for periodic
review of the
Bank's
efforts, using
measurable
criteria, to
assess actions
and progress.
The Bank will
continue to
provide
quarterly
updates to the
FDIC's Dallas
Regional
Office
detailing the
Bank's
progress under
the Plan."
April
10, 2023
FRB Claims No Review of Signature Crypto So FOIA Appeal Citing Gov Barr on Transparency
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, April 8 – Alongside the
larger flame-out of Silicon
Valley Bank, Signature Bank
too failed.
Now
the Federal Reserve in belated
response to Inner City Press'
FOIA request says it has no record
of reviewing Signature and crypto, nor any "record
reflecting any
review by the FRS of
Silvergate’s (and
Provident Bancorp
Inc.,
Metropolitan
Commercial Bank,
Signature Bank,
Customers
Bancorp Inc.) of the
banks’ connections
with crypto-currency firms."
Federal Reserve
letter
to Inner City
Press here
The
Fed did, however,
belatedly give Inner
City Press
the Farmington
State
Bank
application it
approved, with
100%
ownership by
Bahamas
based Jean
Chalopin. It's now on
Inner City
Press'
DocumentCloud
here.
On
April 8, Inner
City Press filed a
FOIA appeal
with the Fed:
"This is an
appeal of the
FRB's denial
and delayed
and
untransparent
processing of
and
determinations
on Inner City
Press'
December 22,
2022 FOIA
request... After
more than
three months,
all the FRB
provided was
the public
portion of
Farmington
State Bank's
application -
this while FRB
Governor Barr
just told
Congress that
the Fed wants
to be
transparent,
including to
outside
reviews.
Most
cynically, the
Denial claims
that
"confidential
information is
not
responsive" -
basing that on
its
interpretation
of a first
request for
clarification,
a
misinterpretation
that all Inner
City Press was
request was
previously
public
information -
information
which even
then the Fed
did not
provide for
eleven
weeks.
We wanted and
want the
records
reflecting the
FRS' review of
Farmington
State Bank's
application,
and the
records about
the Fed's
review of
crypto and the
names firms:
Silvergate
with its FTX
connections,
record
reflecting any
review by the
FRS of
Silvergate's
(and Provident
Bancorp Inc.,
Metropolitan
Commercial
Bank,
Signature
Bank,
Customers
Bancorp Inc).
Does the Fed as Governor Barr said want to be transparent or not?
We'll have more on this.April
3, 2023
With US Banks Being Handed Out Key Bank Cannot Get a Handout As Key to Disinvestment
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
FEDERAL
COURTHOUSE, March 29 – Key Bank is in decline,
both in consumer compliance and in fair
lending.
Now with the US bank regulators giving away
troubled banks, Silicon Valley Bank to First
Citizens, and Signature Bank to NYCB, it is
imperative they know the Key Bank cannot be
given any more branches, any more communities to
take advantage of. Already, Key has government
contract to distribute benefits, and garnish
wages.
Fair Finance Watch, looking at Key Bank's 2021
lending at first in New York State, notes that
while Key Bank made 7916 mortgage loans to
whites, with 1733 denials, it made only 266
loans to African Americans, with fully 140
denial. It should be sued by the
Department of Justice, and many others - just
ask NCRC.
Key Bank is, Fair Finance Watch now says, the
Key to Disinvestment. It is the redlining bank.
Reporting
from and on the Federal courts, Inner City Press
has noticed a slew of data breach cases filed
against KeyCorp, since August 2022, now moving
toward a multi-district consolidation - in
February 2023 to the Northern District of
Georgia, to the Honorable Steven D.
Grimberg.
March
27, 2023
Signature Bank Handed to NYCB Fair Lending Rogue as Barney Frank & Cephas on Board
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
SOUTH
BRONX / SDNY, March 19 – Back in April 2021,
Fair Finance Watch and Inner City Press
predicted that the proposed merger of New York
Community Bank and Flagstar would flounder, on
disparate lending and regulatory evasions. And
it was delayed, see below.
But
now, erasing history, it is announced that New
York Community Bank has agreed to buy a
significant chunk of the failed Signature Bank
in a $2.7 billion deal, the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. said late Sunday. The 40
branches of Signature Bank will become Flagstar
Bank, starting Monday. Flagstar is one of New
York Community Bank’s subsidiaries. The deal
will include the purchase of $38.4 billion in
Signature Bank’s assets, a little more than a
third of Signature’s total when the bank failed
a week ago.
So, a fair lending rogue benefits from a bail
out, or a bank with a former NYS Banking
Superintendent Derrick Cephas, and Barney Frank,
on its board of directors? We'll have more on
this.
Fair Finance Watch found that in 2019 Flagstar
made 60,982 mortgage loans to whites, with
13,963 denial to whites - while making only 3799
loans to African Americans with fully 1777
denials to African American. This was
significantly worse than other lenders.
New York Community Bank's record as an enabler
of and profiteer off slumlords led Inner City
Press file a Community Reinvestment Act
challenge to its then-proposed merger with
Astoria Bank, which fell
apart.
Now
a year a half later, the proposed merger is
still not done and the extended deadline is
approaching, amid talk of, as we predicted, fair
lending action. Both companies' stock prices are
down. CRA and fair lending sometimes do have an
impact. Watch this site.
Watch this site.
CRA Protest to Gaming MVB Bank Bid On Hemp Lender West Town Bank Yields More Questions