by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY/SOUTH BRONX, Oct 22 – As US bank regulators loosen rules - including the FDIC moving to eliminate public comment altogether on branch expansion applications, and OCC to reduce them - now big banks are moving to get bigger, most recently PNC with FirstBank, and Fifth Third with Comerica.
The cynicism of the regulators is boundless. While the FDIC on September 16 closed its comment period on eliminating public notice and comment on branch applications, on September 9 this announcement:
"Federal bank regulatory agencies will hold a hybrid public outreach meeting on October 30, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri, as part of their review of regulations. The Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA) requires the agencies, with input from the public, to review their regulations at least once every 10 years to identify any outdated or otherwise unnecessary regulatory requirements applicable to certain supervised institutions."
On October 21, as the OCC also moved to reduce public comment, Inner City Press checked the docket and found fraud-rocked Zions Bank to have urged loosening anti-redlinining rules. Fair Finance Watch filed, beginning
"with issues we raised, or have attempted to raise, to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on one of its deregulatory moves...
the OCC proposes to make the process of public notice, public comment and CRA review nearly meaningless. It is already toothless. On August 30, 2025 Fair Finance Watch commented to the OCC on / against the branching application of Terrabank NA noting that this national bank in Florida in 2024 made 30 mortgage loans to whites and NONE to African Americans. On September 2 the OCC's Danielle Larrimore, Licensing Specialist, sent acknowledgement of receipt. In the days since, nothing from the OCC - even as the application is listed as approved on the OCC website.
The OCC proposes to further speed up the public process - this while the OCC is now automatically denying Inner City Press' requests for expedited treatment of its FOIA requests for applications It is now proposed that bank need not even apply. How is the public to get notice, and comment if necessary, if there is no information about the proposal?
See, American Banker, Sept 10, 2025, "The FDIC is taking the 'community' out of CRA enforcement," by Matthew R. Lee, here
The request for comment asks, among other things, to "indicate how they should be amended." Given recent statements about the CFPB, Fair Finance Watch has asked the FRB, and asks the agencies here, to ensure uninterrupted public access to HMDA data, which was moved to CFPB.
While the entire focus seems to be reducing regulation and oversight, recent moves by some in the crypto currency industry will require more, not less, oversight. This EGRPRA "review" seems in context to be a scam, a parlor debate while the public is being excluded. There will be more comments and advocacy, not less. As there much be. The FDIC's and OCC's recent proposals, and the FRB's recent moves, must be reversed. Watch this site.
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
