by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SOUTH BRONX/SDNY, Sept 8 – Synovus Bank, with a track record of disparate lending and consumer complaints, now proposes to cash out and merge with Nashville-based Pinnacle.
Pinnacle has said it's too early to say much: "Joe Bass, a spokesman for Pinnacle, noted that, when the merger closes, the combined bank would have $116 billion in assets, compared to $55 billion for Pinnacle today. “It’s way too soon to answer specific questions about specific programs." So when will it not be too early?
It's getting late early - and seemingly by design. The banks' public notice said "Comments may be sent to the Tennessee Commissioner of Financial Institutions via email at Deborah.Grissom@tn.gov" But: Deborah.Grissom@tn.gov: host mxa-002e5701.gslb.pphosted.com said: 550 5.1.1 User Unknown. There should be more on this.
And how much of Pinnacle would move out of Nashville, amid their insisting the holding company would stay in Nashville Yards? What is moving to Atlanta? This is California Bank and Trust - owned by Utah's Zion Bancorporation - brags about moving into Nashville, with no mention of CRA. Zions in California in 2024 reports 729 mortgage loans to whites - and only 34 to African Americans. Into Nashville? We'll aim to have more on Nashville banks - and the Abrego Garcia case there - later this week.
Fair Finance Watch, as the Federal Reserve memorialized, has noted "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."
Since then, Synovus showed up in the criminal "We Build the Wall" prosecution in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, covered by Inner City Press, and in NSF investigations.
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. We will have more on these troubling disparities, including under the Community Reinvestment Act. Watch this site.
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