by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SOUTH BRONX/Federal Court, Feb 11 – A proposed acquisition by FirstSun, whose merger bid failed, of First Foundation has given risen to a challenge under the Community Reinvestment Act.
On December 5 Fair Finance Watch, reviewing Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data of 2022 and 2024, filed a CRA challenge to the merger with the Federal Reserve Board:
This is opposition the Applications of FirstSun Capital Bancorp, Denver, CO (& Dallas TX) to merge with First Foundation, Inc., Irving, Texas, and thereby indirectly acquire First Foundation Bank.
FirstSun's flagship Sunflower Bank, in Texas in 2024, made 401 mortgage loans to whites, and only 46 to African Americans. Meanwhile it denied 12 applications from African Americans, and only 36 from whites.
This is disparate, and more disparate both than the aggregate in Texas.
Nationwide in 2022, Sunflower Bank made 2248 mortgage loans to whites, and only 104 to African Americans. Meanwhile it denied 24 applications from African Americans, and only 162 from whites.
FirstSun's record has grown even worse than in 2022, which Fair Finance Watch analyzed in commenting against FirstSun's ill-fated Home Street proposal. Now, First Foundation is not only "unloved" - it has had massive CRE and other problems.
For the record, on managerial resources and otherwise, note that this proposal involved a complex restructuring, including a $3.4 billion downsizing plan, which is said to carry not only community harm but also execution risk. The price paid for First Foundation has also raised concerns among some analysts. As with Fifth Third / Comerica, there has been a legal inquiry launched by a class action firm regarding the merger with First Foundation.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas including about state CRA laws. On February 11, this response: "Should any state reinvestment laws apply to the proposal, please discuss FirstSun’s and the proposal’s compliance with those laws. Response: None of the jurisdictions in which First Foundation Bank operates branches has community reinvestment laws that apply to this transaction. We note that the state of Nevada has a requirement that financial institutions notify the Nevada Commissioner of Financial Institutions of the public availability of the financial institution’s current CRA rating as soon as such rating becomes publicly available and conduct CRA training sessions for persons and organizations that operate within the community served by the financial institution.1 Sunflower Bank will comply with this state requirement subsequent to the Merger, subject to its operation as a national bank under the National Bank Act. One of the jurisdictions in which Sunflower Bank operates branches, Washington, has community reinvestment laws.2 However, the state community reinvestment laws of Washington only apply to Washington state-chartered banks, and thus do not apply to this transaction."
And see, e.g., Sept 10, 2025: https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/the-fdic-is-undercutting-a-key-element-of-the-cra
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