By Matthew R. Lee
NEW YORK, March 30 – Two months after Inner City Press reported Capital One failing in its proposal to acquire Cabela's "World's Foremost Bank," now a way to try to avoid the regulators and Capital One's Community Reinvestment Act record has emerged. The scam would involve Synovus buying the bank then passing one the credit card receivables to Capital One, while keeping the deposits, so Capital One wouldn't be reviewed under CRA. The Fair Finance Watch will oppose this, trying to ensure that another bank merger challenged by Fair Finance Watch fails. In December it was Astoria's proposed take over by NY Community Bancorp, here. Soon, Sterling.
In January, disparate lender Investor Bancorp, on which Fair Finance Watch previously got a condition imposed saw its proposal with Bank of Princeton fall apart.
And now it's Capital One - Cabela, on which Inner City Press commented: "In the New York City MSA in 2015, the most recent year for which HMDA data is available, for conventional home purchase loans Capital One denied the applications of whites 23% of the time, while denying African Africans fully 45% of the time, and Latinos even more, 46% of the time. This is unacceptable.
Meanwhile, Capital One is “closing branches in Laurel, Gaithersburg, Frederick and Merrifield.”
Meanwhile, Capital One is “closing branches in Laurel, Gaithersburg, Frederick and Merrifield.”
Capital One came back with snark, as has Simmons National -- but then announced including to NCRC that it will withdrawn its application. Onward.
As in The Gambia Yahya Jammeh moved on December 1 to shut off the Internet (and Viber, etc) for the / his election, there was again a deafening silence from the UN and its “communications” chief Cristina Gallach.
On January 5, Inner City Press asked holdover UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, video here,UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: about Gambia. The electoral commission chief has gone into hiding, and the Government has closed three radio stations, one of which reopened with no news on it. So what's the status of the UN's work on this holdover presidency?
Spokesman: We've had… various UN officials have had contacts with parties involved, and obviously we would like to see and are very keen to see a peaceful resolution to the current crisis in the Gambia and, notably, the… for the President… the outgoing President to leave way for the President that was just elected.
Spokesman: We've had… various UN officials have had contacts with parties involved, and obviously we would like to see and are very keen to see a peaceful resolution to the current crisis in the Gambia and, notably, the… for the President… the outgoing President to leave way for the President that was just elected.
As of January 7, new Secretary General Antonio Guterres had yet to speak publicly about Jammeh and Gambia. Meanwhile the US issued a travel warning:
"The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens against travel to The Gambia because of the potential for civil unrest and violence in the near future. On January 7, 2017, the Department of State ordered the departure of family members and authorized the departure of all employees who need to accompany those individuals from the country.
The security situation in The Gambia remains uncertain following December 1, 2016 presidential elections. On January 10, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the current president’s petition contesting the election results, which is a potential flashpoint that could lead to civil unrest. The sitting government has begun taking restrictive measures, which include shutting down and restricting radio stations, and making politically motivated arrests. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has stated it may intervene if the president does not step down by January 18.
U.S. citizens should consider departing on commercial flights and other transportation options now, as airports and ferry terminals may close unexpectedly in the event of unrest. All U.S. citizens should have evacuation plans that do not rely on U.S. government assistance. U.S. citizens should ensure that travel documents (passports and visas) are valid and up-to-date. Consular services, already limited throughout the country due to very poor transportation infrastructure and security conditions, may be further limited, including in Banjul itself.
U.S. citizens who decide to remain in The Gambia should prepare for the possible deterioration of security."
The security situation in The Gambia remains uncertain following December 1, 2016 presidential elections. On January 10, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the current president’s petition contesting the election results, which is a potential flashpoint that could lead to civil unrest. The sitting government has begun taking restrictive measures, which include shutting down and restricting radio stations, and making politically motivated arrests. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has stated it may intervene if the president does not step down by January 18.
U.S. citizens should consider departing on commercial flights and other transportation options now, as airports and ferry terminals may close unexpectedly in the event of unrest. All U.S. citizens should have evacuation plans that do not rely on U.S. government assistance. U.S. citizens should ensure that travel documents (passports and visas) are valid and up-to-date. Consular services, already limited throughout the country due to very poor transportation infrastructure and security conditions, may be further limited, including in Banjul itself.
U.S. citizens who decide to remain in The Gambia should prepare for the possible deterioration of security."
We'll have more on this.
