by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SOUTH BRONX, March 23 – While the US bank regulators purport to be cracking down on fair lending and other abuses of consumers, they continue to allow banks of all sizes to pass exams and merge when they apply, despite deep disparities.
On December 9, Fair Finance Watch (with Inner City Press on the FOIA) commented to the FDIC: Merchants & Marine Bank to acquire Mississippi River Bank:
The applicant Merchants & Marine Bank in 2022 in Mississippi based on its disparate marketing made 148mortgage loans to whites -- while making only 10 loans to African Americans. This is far out of keeping with the demographics, and others lenders, in Mississippi in particularly in Merchants & Marine Bank's CRA assessment areas.
In Alabama it is worse. And it would get worse in Louisiana, into which the bank is apply to expand via Mississippi River Bank.
The applicant Merchants & Marine Bank in 2022 in Alabama based on its disparate marketing made 26 mortgage loans to whites -- and NONE. to African Americans.
This is far out of keeping with the demographics, and others lenders, in Alabama in particularly in Merchants & Marine Bank's CRA assessment areas - this is outrageous.
There are other issues.... Fair Finance Watch is requesting an extension of the public comment period, evidentiary hearings and that, on the current record, the applications not be approved.
On March 19, 2024, the FDIC recounted Fair Finance Watch / Inner City Press' CRA protest and imposed a condition, to develop a plan to serve African American borrowers, we've uploaded it on DocumentCloud here.
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