by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SOUTH BRONX, Nov 25 –As ConnectOne Bank and First National Bank of Long Island congratulate themselves on a merger proposal, the preliminary review by Fair Finance Watch finds problems.
ConnectOne, taking deposits in New York, New Jersey and Florida, in 2023 made only one mortgage loan to an African American applicant.
Meanwhile First National Bank of Long Island, after a weak and disparate lending performance in 2023, now lists on its website that mortgages are only offered through Rocket Mortgage. How do and would these two banks - which should be kept separate and not be allowed the merge, under the Community Reinvestment Act, serve communities. It appears that they don't.
Inner City Press has now FOIA-ed and challenged the required applications for regulatory approval, on November 18 to the FDIC.
On November 25 the FDIC wrote to ConnectOne Bank Frank S. Sorrentino, III – Chairman and CEO that Fair Finance Watch "raises issues regarding both bank’s records of lending to African American persons in New York and nationwide, respectively. The anticipated time and review required to investigate these issues has necessitated the removal of the application from expedited processing." FDIC letter on Inner City Press' DocumentCloud here
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