By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE, May 10 – There was a bank board of directors fight and lawsuit in Philadelphia - but otherwise unreported was the disparate lending records of the institution as issue, Republic Bank, subsidiary of Republic Bancorp.
And now the bank has failed - and been given to Fulton Financial, which as Inner City Press reported commented trying to separately fair lending from the Community Reinvestment Act:
"Fulton Financial, on which ICP has previously commented, perhaps understandably given its lending record urges 'De-couple CRA from Fair Lending... CRA and Fair Lending have complementary but different social and policy objectives. CRA ratings should not be downgraded based on the results of a bank's fair lending performance and exam results.'"
Then the FDIC to its credit release the names of other bidders, including Bank OZK, Little Rock, AR BankUnited, N.A., Miami Lakes, FL and Flushing Bank, Uniondale, NY. But it seems clear CRA was not considered at all. We'll ahve more on this.
Now see to what that view would expand to:
In Pennsylvania in 2020 Republic Bank made 613 mortgage loans to whites and only 14 to African Americans.
In New Jersey, insurgent George E. Norcross III's stomping grounds - literally - Republic Bank in 2020 made 1662 mortgage loans to whites and only 67 to African Americans, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data reseach by Fair Finance Watch finds.
Meanwhile in the court case, reviewed by SDNY-based Inner City Press: "Defendant Republic First Bancorp Inc. (“FRBK”), it is hereby ORDERED that:
1. The Parties are required to maintain the status quo ... The Court may modify Paragraph 3 of this Order at the request of any party for good cause shown, following notice to all other Parties." The order doesn't mention George Norcross - but the story does. We'll have more on this.
The case is HILL v. COHEN (E.D. Pa. 2022), 22-cv-01924 (District Judge Paul Steven Diamond)
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
