By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Story
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
FEDERAL COURT / S Bronx, June 21 – While the Federal Reserve has tried to exclude from its scrutiny of banks questions of labor law violations, retaliation against whistleblowers and employment discrimination, a proposed law just introduced in the US House of Representatives would change that.
It's called the Greater Supervision In Banking Act of 2021, and it was introduced by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7). It would require reporting by global systemically important bank holding companies of such things as
"any enforcement actions, including any consent orders and settlements, against the company (including any affiliate or subsidiary of the company), including enforcement actions related to labor and health and safety law violations (in addition to consumer protection); and
"the total number of whistleblower and ethics complaints made by employees through internal company protocols over the past year, what issues were involved in the complaints, and what the resolutions of the complaints were... the company's actions taken in relation to climate risk and contribution to climate change."
It's said that on mergers, the following is being added: "A description of the public benefits that resulted from the merger, including public benefits for any regional markets... A description of any specific demonstration of a public benefit such as a community benefits agreement, specifying future levels of loans, investments and services for communities of color, low- and moderate-income communities and other underserved communities... A description of the progress the bank has made in implementing the lending, investment, grants and other goals of any community benefits agreement." Watch this site.
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 now another one: Old National's proposal to buy First Midwest. If the Federal Reserve, or at least Governor (soon to be Fed chair?) Lael Brainard, had a problem with PNC - BBVA, why now Old National - First Midwest?
For now we note that in Indiana in 2019 Old National based on its disparate marketing made 3312 mortgage loans to whites, with 1060 denials to whites -- while making only SIXTY TWO loans to African Americans, with more than that in denials: 65. This is outrageous.
Inner City Press (and Fair Finance Watch, on the HMDA) will have more to say about this. Watch this site.
While M&T - People's United still pends in the Federal Reserve, with a promised expedited FOIA response still not forthcoming, the Fed in mid May approved PNC - BBVA, with a rare abstention by Governor Lael Brainard, albeit on antitrust and not CRA or fair lending grounds.
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