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September
13, 2021
FOIA
request
acknowledged -
but still no
records: "Your
request has
been assigned
number
APP-2021-00016.
Please
reference this
number in all
future
correspondence.
Request
description:
This is a FOIA
appeal of the
Deputy
Secretary's
August 31,
2021 denial in
full of my and
Inner City
Press' March
10, 2021 FOIA
request
for "all
records in the
possession or
control of the
FRS, from the
past three
years,
regarding
Wirecard,
including but
not reference
to the bank’s
collapse’s
implications
for the FRS’
view of German
bank
regulation
under FBSEA
[and] all
records the
FRS has, in
the past three
years,
regarding
[Gilbert]
Armenta, Ruja
Ignatova, Mark
Scott and/or
OneCoin, and
also regarding
marijuana
banking,
central to the
case(s)"
September
6, 2021
Federal
Reserve on
OneCoin &
Wirecard FOIA
Takes 5 Month
to Deny, Inner
City Press
Appeal
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon FOIA
Denial
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURT / BRONX, Sept 4 – The Federal
Reserve took five months to act on Inner City
Press' Freedom of Information Act request about
OneCoin, Wirecard and marijuana banking - and
that provided no documents at all. Denial
on DocumentCloud here.
In
response to Inner City Press' March 2021 FOIA
request, the Fed on August 31 wrote:
"This
is in reference to your email message dated
March 10, 2021 and received by the Board’s
Information Disclosure Section on March 11. In
your email, you note that “Inner City
Press has been covering the US v. Weigand bank
fraud trial in the SDNY[.]” In light of
this coverage, and pursuant to the Freedom of
Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552,
you request: all records in the possession or
control of the FRS, from the past three
years, regarding Wirecard, including but not
reference to the bank’s collapse’s
implications for the FRS’ view of German bank
regulation under FBSEA [and] all records
the FRS has, in the past three years,
regarding [Gilbert] Armenta, Ruja Ignatova, Mark
Scott and/or OneCoin, and also regarding
marijuana banking, central to the case(s).
With
respect to the part of your request seeking the
past three years’ worth of records
regarding Wirecard, staff searched Board records
but did not locate any information related
to implications of “the bank’s collapse” or the
Weigand case you reference in your
request.1 With respect to the part
of your request seeking all records “regarding
[Gilbert] Armenta, Ruja Ignatova, Mark
Scott and/or OneCoin” for the past three years,
staff searched Board records and located
one responsive document.
I
have determined, however, that the
responsive information constitutes confidential
supervisory information (e.g., a
supervisory report). This information is subject
to withholding and will be withheld pursuant to
exemption 8 of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. §
552(b)(8).
Inner City Press has appealed:
"This
is a FOIA appeal of the Deputy Secretary's
August 31, 2021 denial in full of my and Inner
City Press' March 10, 2021 FOIA request
for
'all
records in the possession or control of the FRS,
from the past three years, regarding Wirecard,
including but not reference to the bank’s
collapse’s implications for the FRS’ view of
German bank regulation under FBSEA [and] all
records the FRS has, in the past three years,
regarding [Gilbert] Armenta, Ruja Ignatova, Mark
Scott and/or OneCoin, and also regarding
marijuana banking, central to the
case(s)" After taking more
than five months, the Federal Reserve says it
has no records about Wirecard, and only one
about OneCoin, which it withholds in full. This
is an appeal - and a request for how the Fed can
justify taking five months to provide no
documents at all. As to
Wirecard, the request is not as circumscribed as
the response makes it appear. Given the payments
issues raised by the Wirecard collapse, Inner
City Press finds it hard to believe that the Fed
has no records concerning it. And since the
Federal Reserve did not and does not regulate or
supervised OneCoin, Inner City Press contests
the invocation of the bank supervision exemption
to withhold this record in full. Particular
given statements on cryptocurrency from Federal
Reserve officials, for example the present of
the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, that the entire
Federal Reserve System claims to have a single
document about OneCoin is not
credible. As to marijuana banking,
to refuse to provide any documents is
unacceptable. Given the legal issues of this
substance being illegal federally but legal in
several states, it is impossible to believe that
the Fed has not provided guidance to banks on
the topic. Those records are responsive,
particularly after five months."
August
30, 2021
CRA Protest to South State-Atlantic Capital, Fed Begins Closing Comments Before Application
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Story
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
FEDERAL
COURT / S Bronx, August 26 – Whether or not the
U.S. Community Reinvestment Act will be again
enforced until the new Administration and its
regulators is an open question.
Now
the proposed acquisition by South State
Corporation of Atlantic Capital Bank in Georgia
will be a litmus test. South State is so
disparate that in South Carolina in 2020 for
mortgage loans to African Americans it had more
denials (147) than loans made (133) - while
making six loans to whites for every denial to a
white applicant.
On
August 17, Fair Finance Watch and Inner City
Press on the FOIA) filed a comment with the
Federal Reserve Board, below.
On
August 25, this strange response: "Dear Mr.
Lee, This is to
acknowledge receipt of your email to the Office
of the Secretary for the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System (Board) dated August
17, 2021, regarding the proposal of South State
Corporation to merge with Atlantic Capital
Bancshares, Inc., and thereby indirectly acquire
Atlantic Capital Bank, NA. To date, South
State Corporation has not filed an application
with the Federal Reserve System.
Currently, the public comment period for the
proposal will end on September 20, 2021.
If an application is filed within the next three
months from the date your comment was sent, your
correspondence will be made part of the record,
and the Board will evaluate your comment.
We will also send a copy of the public portions
of the application as soon as possible after the
application is received.
Sincerely, Jennifer
Snow Senior Examiner Supervision,
Regulation, and Credit Federal Reserve
Bank of Atlanta
Integrity. Excellence. Respect."
How
can there be a comment period with expiration
date, if there is no application? Inner City
Press asked, and on August 26 is told:
"Our
procedures provide that advance notice in the
Federal Register may be requested in advance of
a filing. The comment period end date applies to
the Federal Register notice, which was filed in
advance of the application being filed."
August
23, 2021
So: “I
was more
optimistic
about crypto
and bitcoin
five or six
years ago,”
Neel Kashkari,
president of
the Federal
Reserve Bank
of
Minneapolis,
said Aug 17,
2021.
“So far what
I’ve seen is …
95% fraud,
hype, noise
and
confusion.”
August
16, 2021
Old National - 1st Midwest Was CRA Protested Now Gets Asked About Multi-State Lending
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Story
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
FEDERAL
COURT / S Bronx, August 11 – Whether or not the
U.S. Community Reinvestment Act will be again
enforced until the new Administration and its
regulators is an open question. And the proposed
merger of two redlining banks, M&T and
People's United, will be a litmus test, see
below.
And
this one: Old National's proposal to buy First
Midwest. On June 28, Fair Finance Watch and
Inner City Press on the FOIA) filed the below
with the Fed.
And
on July 21-22, these Federal Reserve questions
to Old National's outside counsel at Patton
Boggs below. But the next day, the Fed told
Patton Bogg it was denying Fair Finance Watch's
request to keep the comment period open, even
while the Fed has yet to provide FOIA documents
despite ostensibly granting expedited treatment
to Inner City Press' request.
August
9, 2021
Old National - 1st Midwest Was CRA Protested Now Withholds All Answers So New FOIA
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Story
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
FEDERAL
COURT / S Bronx, August 4 – Whether or not the
U.S. Community Reinvestment Act will be again
enforced until the new Administration and its
regulators is an open question. And the proposed
merger of two redlining banks, M&T and
People's United, will be a litmus test, see
below.
And
this one: Old National's proposal to buy First
Midwest. On June 28, Fair Finance Watch and
Inner City Press on the FOIA) filed the below
with the Fed.
And
on July 21-22, these Federal Reserve questions
to Old National's outside counsel at Patton
Boggs below. But the next day, the Fed told
Patton Bogg it was denying Fair Finance Watch's
request to keep the comment period open, even
while the Fed has yet to provide FOIA documents
despite ostensibly granting expedited treatment
to Inner City Press' request.
And
now Old National has tried to withhold all of
its CRA responses, triggering this FOIA request:
" This is a FOIA request for the all withheld
portions of the additional information submitted
by Old National on August 2 as part of its
challenged application seeking to aquire First
Midwest including but not limited to the all of
the withheld convenience and needs answers:
"Clarify whether a decision will be made prior
to consummation on which branches will be closed
or consolidated as a result of the merger. b.
Provide information about how branches will be
evaluated when determining whether branches will
be closed or consolidated as a result of the
merger. c. Discuss how the impact of any branch
closures in low- and middle-income and/or
majority-minority communities will be
mitigated. (c) Please see
Confidential Exhibit E for the requested
information. 9. Describe which components of
First Midwest Bank’s and Old National Bank’s
consumer compliance programs will be adopted
into the Resultant Bank’s consumer compliance
program. Please see Confidential Exhibit F for
the requested information. 10. Provide
information on the Resultant Bank’s processes
and procedures in the event that products are
discontinued for existing customers and existing
customers are transitioned into new products as
a result of the merger. Please see Confidential
Exhibit G for the requested information."
This is an outrage. This follows up on our
previous and still outstanding FOIA request for
the withheld portions fo the Application and the
Fed's communications with and about the
applicants."
August
2, 2021
Governor
Brainard, July
30: "Although
the EPOP ratio
for Black
individuals
has improved
more strongly
than the
overall ratio
over the
course of
2021, closing
about 40
percent of the
December gap,
it remains
more than 3
percentage
points below
its
pre-pandemic
level and more
than 2
percentage
points below
the current
level of the
EPOP ratio for
white
individuals."
July
26, 2021
Old National - 1st Midwest Was CRA Protested Now Fed Delays on FOIA But Closes Ears
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Story
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
FEDERAL
COURT / S Bronx, July 23 – Whether or not the
U.S. Community Reinvestment Act will be again
enforced until the new Administration and its
regulators is an open question. And the proposed
merger of two redlining banks, M&T and
People's United, will be a litmus test, see
below.
And
this one: Old National's proposal to buy First
Midwest. On June 28, Fair Finance Watch and
Inner City Press on the FOIA) filed the below
with the Fed.
Andon
July 21-22, these Federal Reserve questions to
Old National's outside counsel at Patton Boggs
below. But the next day, the Fed told Patton
Bogg it was denying Fair Finance Watch's request
to keep the comment period open, even while the
Fed has yet to provide FOIA documents despite
ostensibly granting expedited treatment to Inner
City Press' request. This is a pro-corporate
circus, that should be exposed under the new
Antitrust Executive Order.
The
Fed's questions: "July 21, 2021 Ms. Katie
Wechsler Of Counsel Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
2550 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 Dear Ms.
Wechsler: This correspondence relates to the
application submitted by Old National Bancorp
(Old National), Evansville, Indiana, to acquire
through merger First Midwest Bancorp (First
Midwest), and its subsidiary, First Midwest
Bank, both of Chicago, Illinois, pursuant to
section 3 of the Bank Holding Company Act of
1956 and Section 225.15 of Regulation Y of the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
(Board). Based on staff’s review of the current
record, the following additional information,
including the information in the Confidential
Attachment, is requested. Supporting
documentation, as appropriate, should be
provided. Financial and Managerial 1. Provide
pro forma financial statements and capital
ratios as of June 30, 2021 for Old National and
Old National Bank, as soon as available. 2.
Provide the employment agreement for Michael
Scudder. 3. Provide an update, if any, on the
status of other required regulatory approvals
for the proposed transaction, including state
approvals. 4. Confirm the anticipated closing
date of the merger. Confirm whether the bank
merger and the holding company merger will occur
on the same date. Legal 5. In response to
Question 16 of the FR Y-3 application dated June
18, 2021 (“the Application”), you state that
First Midwest Bank has five active wholly-owned
operating subsidiaries. The list of five
subsidiaries includes “First Midwest Holdings,
Inc.” twice, and indicates that First Midwest
Holdings, Inc. has a wholly-owned subsidiary,
FMB Investments Ltd. a. Confirm the number
of active wholly-owned operating subsidiaries
held either directly or indirectly by First
Midwest Bank. If any of these subsidiaries were
not listed in response to Question 16, identify
them and provide brief descriptions of their
respective activities. b. Confirm whether
First Midwest Securities Management, LLC is a
wholly- owned operating subsidiary of First
Midwest Bank. If so, provide a brief
description of its activities. 6. As
referenced in the Agreement and Plan of Merger
dated May 30, 2021, provide the First Midwest
Disclosure Schedule and Old National Disclosure
Schedule. 7. The response to Question 21(d) of
the Application does not indicate whether any
state community reinvestment laws apply to Old
National. 12 U.S.C. § 1842(d)(3)(B) requires the
Board to consider an applicant’s record of
compliance with applicable state community
reinvestment laws. Confirm that the Old National
organization (i.e., Old National and its
subsidiaries) is not subject to a state
community reinvestment law in any jurisdiction
in which it operates. If the Old National
organization is subject to a state community
reinvestment law, discuss the Old National
organization’s record of compliance with the
applicable state law(s). Convenience and Needs
and Consumer Compliance 8. Page 4 of the
Application states that the “Resultant Bank”
will continue to maintain all the current
branches of both Old National Bank and First
Midwest Bank; however, the response to Question
20(c) also states, “As of this date, no final
decision has been made with respect to branch
closing or consolidations.” a. Clarify whether a
decision will be made prior to consummation on
which branches will be closed or consolidated as
a result of the merger. b. Provide information
about how branches will be evaluated when
determining whether branches will be closed or
consolidated as a result of the merger. c.
Discuss how the impact of any branch closures in
low- and middle-income and/or majority-minority
communities will be mitigated. 9. Describe
which components of First Midwest Bank’s and Old
National Bank’s consumer compliance programs
will be adopted into the Resultant Bank’s
consumer compliance program.
July
12, 2021
How
will the Federal
Reserve deal
with this,
from the antirust Executive
Order? "
(e) To
ensure
Americans have
choices among
financial
institutions
and to guard
against
excessive
market power,
the Attorney
General, in
consultation
with the
Chairman of
the Board of
Governors of
the Federal
Reserve
System, the
Chairperson of
the Board of
Directors of
the Federal
Deposit
Insurance
Corporation,
and the
Comptroller of
the Currency,
is encouraged
to review
current
practices and
adopt a plan,
not later than
180 days after
the date of
this order,
for the
revitalization
of merger
oversight
under the Bank
Merger Act and
the Bank
Holding
Company Act of
1956 (Public
Law 84-511, 70
Stat. 133, 12
U.S.C. 1841 et
seq.) that is
in accordance
with the
factors
enumerated in
12 U.S.C.
1828(c) and
1842(c)."
July
5, 2021
Still
no docs: "This
will
acknowledge
receipt of
your
electronic
submission
dated June 28,
2021, and
received by
the Board’s
Information
Disclosure
Section on
June 29. You
request,
pursuant to
the Freedom of
Information
Act (“FOIA”),
5 U.S.C. §
552: the
entirety of
the
application by
Old National
Bancorp,
Evansville,
Indiana; to
merge with
First Midwest
Bancorp, Inc.,
and thereby
indirectly
acquire First
Midwest Bank,
including all
portions for
which the
applicants
have requested
confidential
treatment, and
for all
records
including
electronic
records
reflecting the
FRS’
communications
with or about
Old National
or First
Midwest or
either’s
affiliates
since January
1, 2020. The
Board makes
every effort
to fulfill
requests in a
timely manner;
however, there
may be delays
in fulfilling
complex
requests or
those that
require
consultation
June
28, 2021
Webster On Sterling Merger Protest Told By Fed To Respond, and to 12 Questions, Here
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- CJR -
PFT
SOUTH
BRONX / SDNY, June 26 – The proposed merger of
Webster Financial Corp. and Sterling Bancorp has
now been challenged, on disparate lending and
regulatory evasions, first to the Federal
Reserve and the OCC.
On June 25, the Fed asked the banks a series of
questions, below and full letter on Patreon here
Fair Finance Watch has found that in 2019 in its
home state of Connecticut, Webster National Bank
made 3147 mortgage loans to whites, with 1364
denial to whites - while making only 71 loans to
African Americans with fully 99 denials to
African American. This is significantly worse
than other banks in the state; the merger must
be denied.
The
Fed on June 25 wrote, copying Fair Finance
Watch: "The application references a new mobile
banking platform being developed by Sterling
Bank that will be adopted by the combined
organization. a. Describe any due
diligence conducted by Webster Bank regarding
the new mobile banking platform and the
extent to which the development is taking place
in-house or via a third party.
b.
Describe in greater detail the intended uses of
the mobile banking platform and the data
collected therefrom, the specific features and
products that will be offered by the
platform, and the ability of customers to opt in
or out of its use, and to limit the data
that will be collected through the
platform. c. To the extent not already
addressed in your responses to the previous
questions, discuss efforts to ensure that
the mobile banking platform will be offered
in compliance with consumer protection
laws, including fair lending laws. Your
discussion should include (i) the extent to
which technology-based data that is alternative
to data traditionally used in credit decisions
would be used to underwrite loans offered
through the platform, (ii) any anticipated
efforts to ensure such alternative data is
used in compliance with fair lending laws, and
(iii) how proprietary customer information
would be safeguarded. d. To the extent not
already addressed in your responses to the
previous questions, describe any
anticipated changes to the Community
Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) plans for the
combined institution that would result from the
implementation of the mobile banking
platform.
2.
The application states that “Webster Bank and
Sterling Bank are carefully evaluating
their current consumer products and
community development programs and services so
that the combined bank may incorporate the
strongest components of both banks’
community reinvestment activities.”
a. Provide an update on this review process
including, if it is not yet complete, an
anticipated timeframe for
completion. . As this information
becomes available, discuss whether any consumer
products or community development programs
and services of either bank are expected to
be discontinued and whether, to the extent
not already described in the application,
any products, programs or services will be
made available in either bank’s market that
are not currently offered. 3. Page
36 of the application indicates that Webster
Bank made more than 11,000 PPP loans.
Pages 37 and 73 of the application indicate that
Webster Bank funded more than 18,000 PPP
loans totaling more than $2.0 billion. Page 57
of the application indicates that Webster
Bank has participated in funding nearly
$1.98 billion in PPP loans to over 17,350
customers. Confirm the latest figures for
number and dollar volume of PPP loans.
June 21, 2021
Now the
Fed has issued
a procedural
ruling on
Inner City
Press' Webster
- Sterling
FOIA request -
but still not
documents:
"This is in
response to
your
electronic
submission
dated June 3,
2021, and
received by
the Board’s
Information
Disclosure
Section on
June 4.
Pursuant to
the Freedom of
Information
Act (“FOIA”),
5 U.S.C. §
552, you
request:
the entirety
of the
application by
Webster
Financial
Corporation to
merge with
Sterling
Bancorp, and
thereby
indirectly
acquire
Sterling
National Bank,
including all
portions for
which the
applicants
have requested
confidential
treatment, and
for all
records
including
electronic
records
reflecting the
FRS’
communications
with or about
Webster or
Sterling or
either’s
affiliates
since January
1, 2020. You
also seek
expedited
processing for
your request
because “the
records
[should be]
provided
before the
comment period
ends (for now,
July 8).” The
Board’s Rules
Regarding
Availability
of Information
and the FOIA
provide that a
requester
seeking
expedited
processing
should
demonstrate a
compelling
need for the
records, and
that this need
may be
evidenced by a
statement that
the requester
is “a person
who is
primarily
engaged in
disseminating
information”
and there is
“[a]n urgency
to inform the
public about
an actual or
alleged
Federal
Government
activity.” See
12 C.F.R. §
261.12(c); see
also 5 U.S.C.
§
552(a)(6)(E)(v)(II).
I have
determined to
grant your
request for
expedited
processing"
June
14, 2021
It took
the Fed a full
week to
acknowledge Inner
City Press /
Fair Finance Watch's
comments
on Webster - Sterling
and send even
the "public"
portion of the
application --
still,
as of June 12,
no substantive
response to
the FOIA
request...
Greetings
Mr.
Lee,
We acknowledge
receipt of
your email
correspondence
dated June 3,
2021 to this
Reserve Bank
commenting on
the proposed
merger between
Webster
Financial
Corporation,
Waterbury,
Connecticut,
and Sterling
Bancorp, Pearl
River, New
York.
Please see
attached this
Reserve Bank’s
acknowledgement
letter.
June
7, 2021
From
the Fed, no
mention if
whether they
will respond
as they should
during the
comment
period:
Dear
Mr. Lee:
This will
acknowledge
receipt of
your
electronic
submission
dated June 3,
2021,
and received
by the Board’s
Information
Disclosure
Section on
June 4. You
request,
pursuant to
the Freedom of
Information
Act (“FOIA”),
5 U.S.C. §
552:
the entirety
of the
application by
Webster
Financial
Corporation to
merge with
Sterling
Bancorp, and
thereby
indirectly
acquire
Sterling
National Bank,
including all
portions for
which the
applicants
have
requested
confidential
treatment, and
for all
records
including
electronic
records
reflecting the
FRS’
communications
with or about
Webster or
Sterling or
either’s
affiliates
since January
1, 2020.
The Board
makes every
effort to
fu