By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell Book
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
SDNY / SOUTH BRONX, June 15 – Seemingly oblivious to US regulators stated desire to tighten up their merger review rules, specifically on fair lending, Toronto Dominion on February 28 announced a $13.4 billion proposal to buy First Horizon.
Fair Finance Watch has been concerned by TD Bank's lending disparities for some time. Nationwide in 2020, TD Bank denied almost as many applications from African Americans (833) as it made in mortgage loans to African Americans (853). It was far more generous with white borrowers: 23,469 loans made, with only 9009 denials.
Fair Finance Watch immediately online noted that in New York State in 2020, TD Bank was even worse. It denied more mortgage applications from African Americans (255) that it made loans to African Americans in NYC (198). Again, TD Bank was far more generous with white borrowers in NYS: 3,558 loans made, with only 1714 denials.
On June 14, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representatives Katie Porter and Jesus Chuy Garcia wrote in to oppose TD's proposed merger, citing "TD Bank’s behavior, incentivized by a “points system” that rewarded employees for placing profits over fair service for consumers and included the creation of enrollment of customers in new accounts and services like overdraft protection without their permission." (The report they quote is, without irony, behind a paywall.)
The letter is only to the OCC's Michael Hsu, and not the Federal Reserve which is responsible for the larger bank holding company merger. Watch this site.
Fair Finance Watch said: but just as the Federal Reserve begrudgingly is holding a public hearing on US Bancorp - MUFG / Union Bank, on March 8, there is even more reason to hold multiple hearings on a large and disparate Canadian bank buying Horizon.
Now: "The Federal Reserve Board (Board) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced a joint public meeting on the proposal by The Toronto-Dominion Bank, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to acquire First Horizon Corporation, Memphis, Tennessee. The purpose of the public meeting is to collect information from a wide range of stakeholders as the agencies evaluate the proposed applications. By law, the agencies are required to evaluate: the convenience and needs of the communities to be served by the combined organization; the insured depository institutions’ performance under the Community Reinvestment Act; competition in the relevant markets; the effects of the proposal on the stability of the U.S. banking or financial system; the financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the companies and banks involved in the proposal; and the effectiveness of the companies and banks in combatting money laundering activities. The public meeting will be held virtually on August 18, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. EDT. Members of the public seeking to present oral comments must register by 12:00 p.m. EDT on July 28, 2022 through the online registration web page, which will be updated with registration details by June 8, 2022. Further information and requirements to present, as well as registration information to view the public meeting, are available in the attachment from the agencies. Also today, to give interested parties additional time to comment, the agencies announced that they are extending the public comment period for the applications to the OCC and Board that are associated with the proposal. Comments on the applications will now be accepted through August 23, 2022."
Inner City Press will be inquiring under the Freedom of Information Act. Watch this site.
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