by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
FEDERAL COURT, Feb 11 – 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 the 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.
On February 11, OceanFirst through its counsel at Simpson Thacher filed a contemptuous response, that "OceanFirst entered into the Consent Order in order to avoid costly litigation ... we note that the OCC, FDIC, and other federal agencies have taken steps to eliminate or reduce their reliance on theories of liability that are based on statistical analyses of disparate impact." This is not a bank that is wanted in New York State, as FFW has commented to NYS-DFS.
Notably, at 4 am on January 10 an OCC official responded to the comment a week earlier and wrote, "Mr. Lee, Thank you for your email. We do not currently have a merger/acquisition application on file from OceanFirst. If and when an application is filed by OceanFirst, the public portion of the application will be available on occ.gov (use the CAS tool) for your review and comment. Please let us know if you have any questions."
FFW replied: "Well yes, we have some questions, including in light of Comptroller Gould's public statements about reviewing and approving merger applications faster and faster. 1) This does not confirm that the OCC will consider FFW's early filed comment when the OceanFirst national bank application is filed. Does FFW have to re-file the comment, such that it will only re received some period into the short comment period? 2) It is not the case that copies of applications are available on the OCC website. For example, the comment period is already running on Fulton - Blue Foundary - with no link to the application, and no copy provided despite FFW's request more than a month ago.
Please answer these asap - at whatever hour."
FFW and Inner City Press then commented to the OCC on two digital applications, including Augustus / Ivy GmbH and one loudly announced but nowhere to be found on the OCC's website, and submitted FOIA requests.
Watch this site.
On this, 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.
On January 7 the Federal Reserve replied: "The Federal Reserve Bank of Phiadelphia received your correspondence on January 2, 2026, regarding a future application by OceanFirst to acquire Flushing Bank. The Federal Reserve has not yet received an application by OceanFirst to acquire Flushing Bank. Accordingly, no immediate action will be taken on the correspondence dated January 2, 2026. If a filing is received in the next three months, your comment may be considered as part of the application record for the filing."
MAY be considered? Still no more from OCC, as of February 11. But challenge and FOIL filed at NYS DFS. Watch this site.
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