by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
NASHVILLE, Sept 11 – Synovus Bank, with a track record of disparate lending and consumer complaints, now proposes to cash out and merge with Nashville-based Pinnacle.
But Pinnacle has its own disparities, and is under-regulated by the Tennessee Commissioner of Financial Institutions, who refuses to provide any documents to anyone but Tennessee "citizens" (not even those *in* Tennessee).
So Fair Finance Watch has filed Community Reinvestment Act challenges with the Federal Reserve, the recalcitrant Tennessee regulators those in Georgia, who have confirmed receipt:
Dear Chair Powell and others in the FRS:
This is a timely first comment on, the Applications of Steel Newco Inc., Peachtree Corners, Georgia to acquire Synovus Financial Corp., and thereby indirectly acquire Synovus Bank, both of Columbus, Georgia, as well as Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc., and Pinnacle Bank, both of Nashville, Tennessee.
Among with Inner City Press' pending FOIA request to the Board for its communications with Pinnacle and/or Synovus, it requested information about Pinnacle from the Tennessee Commissioner of Financial Institutions, to whom the public notice says public comment can be sent.
On September 10 their associate general counsel responded, "it does not appear that you are a citizen of this state, and therefore the Tennessee Public Records Act does not apply to this request." It is problematic for a multi-state bank's home state regulator to give any information to residents of other states. These comments are being submitted there as well as to the FRS.
Fair Finance Watch has long been concerned about Synovus, as the Federal Reserve memorialized, noting "disparities in denial rates and home mortgage originations to African Americans and/or Hispanics, as compared to whites, in certain markets. The commenter also noted a complaint filed with the CFPB against Synovus Bank relating to collecting on a debt allegedly not owed."
Fair Finance Watch has reviewed the just-released 2024 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data of Synovus and finds that while it made 3.18 loans to whites for each denial to whites, it made only 1.7 loans to African Americans for each denial to African Americans.
Pinnacle is of even greater concern. In Virginia, where Pinnacle received a Low Satisfactory on the Lending Test in its most recently (May 2023) CRA performance evaluation, in 2024 it made 133 mortgage loans to whites, with 19 denials, but only 13 loans to African Americans, with fully eight denials.
In Alabama, where Pinnacle also received a Low Satisfactory on the Lending Test, in 2024 Pinnacle made 106 mortgage loans to whites, with 16 denials, but only 56 loans to African Americans, with fully nine denials.
In North Carolina, where Pinnacle also received a Low Satisfactory on the Lending Test, in 2024 Pinnacle made 653 mortgage loans to whites, with 178 denials, but only 202 loans to African Americans, with fully 82 denials.
Even in Tennessee, which conceals its records, Pinnacle was rated Low Satisfactory on the Lending Test in Knoxville and Chattanooga. Not in the exam:
In Florida in 2024 Pinnacle made 38 mortgage loans to whites, with 11 denials, but only five loans to African Americans, with fully NINE denials.
In Kentucky in 2024 Pinnacle made eleven mortgage loans to whites, with seven denials, but NO loans to African Americans. This application should not be approved; particularly in light of the disparities, public evidentiary hearings are needed.
FFW and Inner City Press have been deeply concerned about the rush by the Federal Reserve's to rubber-stamp mergers by redliners, money launderers and predatory lenders. This has been killing the Community Reinvestment Act --
FFW notes in the FDIC's pending proposal RIN 3064-AG10: "the FDIC has received a limited number of public comments in response to subpart C applications.... Therefore, the FDIC is proposing to eliminate the public notice and related public comment period from subpart C and to make conforming changes to subpart A of 12 CFR part 303 of the FDIC Rules." Op-ed here
The Community Reinvestment Act specifies that "the appropriate Federal financial supervisory agency shall (1) assess the institution's record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of such institution; and (2) take such record into account in its evaluation of an application for a deposit facility by such institution."
That is, the only enforcement mechanism of CRA is its consideration on applications for deposit facilities: branches, and proposed mergers like this one. But now the Federal regulator(s) blithely propose(s) to eliminate public notice and public comment on banks' proposals to expand. The above-quoted reasoning is that few comments are filed. So, that is now changing...
Watch this site.
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