Inner City Press' Community Reinvestment Reporter

  

     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 informationCBS 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.

Click here for Inner City Press' weekday news reports, from the United Nations and elsewhere. Click here for a recent BBC piece on Inner City Press' reporting from the United Nations. New: Follow us on TWITTER   BloggingHeads.tv  Click for March 1, 2011 BloggingHeads.tv re Libya, Sri Lanka, UN Corruption by Inner City Press. 2014: MRL on Beacon Reader  For or with more information, contact us. 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.

Inner City Press,, which reports daily on the SDNY (and the Community Reinvestment Act evasions of Chase and other banks like KeyCorp) put the order on its DocumentCloud here.

  April 30, 2023 piece on JPM Chasing First Republic amid WHCA glitz and the E. Jean Carroll v. Trump trial, on Substack here

  There was no public input into the sell-off, including into how many of First Republic's 84 branches for example in New York City will be closed.

  Back on April 18, after a telephone conference without transcription, Judge Rakoff ordered: "Jamie Dimon should be set aside two days for his deposition. On the first day, plaintiffs will have the opportunity to depose Mr. Dimon for a combined total of five hours. Mr. Staley will have the opportunity to depose Mr. Dimon for two hours. If, at the end of the first day, any party believes that it needs more time to depose Mr. Dimon, it must convene a joint call to Chambers by no later than 5:00 PM to explain why. The Court will then rule as to whether Mr. Dimons deposition should continue for a second day and, if so, for how long."

Will that call be open to the press and public?

More on Substack here.

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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."

Just after that, Noah reached an agreement to sell itself to The Bank of Princeton. It is hard to believe that the troubling compliance issues seen in the trial have been resolved. But the regulators, who have failed on Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic (so far) approved the merger (saying they "do not consider the issues raised therein to constitute a protest for the purposes of this application") and spread Noah's rot further

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!

  Former Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Cleveland bigwig Michael E. Collins is on the board of Comerica, the bank that abandoned Detroit for Dallas. The Administration is saying that people will be held accountable - but who?

Oakwood Bank Was Protested on MapleMark Bank Merger Proposal & Withdrew now Interest

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 Bank

May 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.

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Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

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.

Inner City Press,, which reports daily on the SDNY (and the Community Reinvestment Act evasions of Chase and other banks like KeyCorp) put the order on its DocumentCloud here.

  April 30, 2023 piece on JPM Chasing First Republic amid WHCA glitz and the E. Jean Carroll v. Trump trial, on Substack here

  There was no public input into the sell-off, including into how many of First Republic's 84 branches for example in New York City will be closed.

  Back on April 18, after a telephone conference without transcription, Judge Rakoff ordered: "Jamie Dimon should be set aside two days for his deposition. On the first day, plaintiffs will have the opportunity to depose Mr. Dimon for a combined total of five hours. Mr. Staley will have the opportunity to depose Mr. Dimon for two hours. If, at the end of the first day, any party believes that it needs more time to depose Mr. Dimon, it must convene a joint call to Chambers by no later than 5:00 PM to explain why. The Court will then rule as to whether Mr. Dimons deposition should continue for a second day and, if so, for how long."

Will that call be open to the press and public?

More on Substack here.

***

Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

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 

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Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

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 

***

Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

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."

Watch this site.

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. 

   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

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

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon MVB File
BBC - Honduras -