by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
FEDERAL COURT, Jan 2 – How automatic do bank now think merger approvals are? On December 29, OceanFirst, which settled charges of redlining earlier this decade, announced it will apply to buy Flushing Bank in New York.
Fair Finance Watch has opposed it, in comments filed January 2 with the Office of teh Comptroller of the Currency, and with the Federal Reserve Board which recently allowed a $7 billion mega-merger to proceed with no Fed review. OceanFirst's record should preclude this. and this proposed deal.
In 2024 OceanFirst made 1399 loans to whites - and only 94 to African Americans. In Connecticut, for example, it made loans only to whites, none to African Americans.
In Pennsylvania its ratio of loans to whites to loans to African Americans was 4.5 to 1. In New York, it was 7 to 1.
This proposal is being opposed along with the OCC's moves to exclude the public, and to withhold documents under FOIA from Inner City Press and others until comment periods close. Watch this site.
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