by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY/SOUTH BRONX, Jan 23 – As US bank regulators loosen rules - including the FDIC moving to eliminate public comment altogether on branch expansion applications - now more big banks are moving to get bigger.
On October 6, Fifth Third announced it would apply to buy damaged Comerica Bank. On October 8-9, it was opposed, to the Fed and OCC, by Fair Finance Watch.
After FOIA requests, the list of 80 branches Fifth Third would close was exposed by Inner City Press, and covered in Michigan press. But on January 13, while speaking loudly about independence, the Fed rubber stamped Fifth Third's application, calling many concerns irrelevant to it and spinning the branch closures.
On January 23, FFW filed a timely request for reconsideration with the Fed:
"The Approval, at n. 32, recounted that FFW 'asked the Board to consider the risks of Fifth Third’s recently announced partnership with a fintech firm that uses artificial intelligence for its commercial credit card and expense management platform' - then dismissed the issue, and the hearing request.
"Well, on January 22, 2026 this fintech - which the Board left unnamed - Brex announced it would be sold to Capital One. See, e.g., "Capital One agrees to acquire credit card, stablecoin payment enabler Brex" and "Capital One stock drops nearly 8% after Brex buy." How can a putative competitor - Capital One - own Fifth Third's partner Brex? The Board must consider this new fact, new since January 13, on connection with the request for reconsideration, and otherwise. There is much in the Board's approval which is dismissive and wrong, but FFW will focus this request for reconsideration on new fact involving Fifth Third's partnership with Brex, now to be owned by Capital One. The approval should be reconsidered, and other actions taken."
On December 1 Fifth Third filed with the Fed, but is seeking to withhold from the public, the many branches it would close if it gets Fed approval. FFW immediately challenged with withholding under FOIA - and has noted to the Fed that the proposed deal has been sued in Delaware, where there is a January hearing. The comment period must remain open, including until all branch closings are disclosed.
On November 10, after a contemptuous response by Fifth Third's Kala Gibson, the fight has spread to five more states.
Fifth Third's EVP of "Corporate Responsibility" Kala Gibson wrote in urging a rubber stamp from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, saying that HMDA data proves nothing. He is speaking for CEO Tim Spence, who bragged on the day of announcement how fast he could obtain an approval. Well let's see.
In state after state, Fifth Third for African Americans has (many) more denials than originations, while the opposite is true for white borrows. The pattern is striking, starting with two states Fifth Third and Comerica overlap in:
In Michigan, the state Comerica abandoned for Texas, Fifth Third in 2024 denied 249 applications from African Americans while making fewer, only 177loans - while it made fully 4189 loans to whites and denied only 1688 applications. This is disparate [there are more states] They are worse in Florida...
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