By Matthew R. Lee
SOUTH BRONX, August 14 -- While 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.
On August 6, Inner City Press / Fair Finance Watch submitted a timely challenge to the NYSDFS against a pre-merger branch closing by Emigrant. While not responding, the NYSDFS then provided notice of a merger application filed August 8, saying the comment period expired August 6 - click here to view.
The NYSDFS has not explained this either. Can you say Kafka?
Meanwhile based on troubling disparities in mortgage lending in the Deep South, Fair Finance Watch has filed Community Reinvestment Act comments with the Federal Reserve on Mississippi-based Trustmark's application to acquire Mobile, Alabama based BankTrust.
In its headquarters Metropolitan Statistical Area of Jackson, Mississippli in 2010, Trustmark for conventional home purchase loans had a denial rate for African Americans more than SIX TIMES HIGHER than for whites: 44.7% denial rate for African Americans, versus 7.3% for whites. It had a 100% denial rate for these and refinance loans for Latinos.
In the Gulfport - Biloxi MSA in 2010, for conventional home purchase loans Trustmark made 40 loans to whites and only four to African Americans.
In the Memphis MSA in 2010, for conventional home purchase loans Trustmark made 34 loans to whites and only two to African Americans.
In the Houston MSA in 2010, for conventional home purchase loans Trustmark made 35 loans to whites and NONE to African Americans.
Fair Finance Watch has requested an evidentiary hearing into these lending patterns. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has confirmed receipt and asked the Fed's Freedom of Information Act unit and more importantly Trustmark and its outside counsel for responses. Watch this site.
