| While US
Regulators Mull Bank Merger Challenges,
Proposed Bill Would Require More
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Story
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
FEDERAL COURT / S
Bronx, June 21 – While the
Federal Reserve has tried to
exclude from its scrutiny of
banks questions of labor law
violations, retaliation
against whistleblowers and
employment discrimination, a
proposed law just introduced
in the US House of
Representatives would change
that.
It's
called the Greater Supervision
In Banking Act of 2021,
and it was introduced by Rep.
Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7). It
would require reporting by
global systemically important
bank holding companies
of such things as
"any enforcement
actions, including any consent
orders and settlements,
against the company (including
any affiliate or subsidiary of
the company), including
enforcement
actions
related to labor and health
and safety law violations
(in addition to consumer
protection); and
"the total number
of whistleblower and
ethics complaints made
by employees through internal
company protocols over the
past year, what issues were
involved in the complaints,
and what the resolutions of
the complaints were... the
company's actions taken in
relation to climate risk
and contribution to climate
change."
It's said that on
mergers, the following is
being added: "A description of
the public benefits that
resulted from the merger,
including public benefits for
any regional markets... A
description of any specific
demonstration of a public
benefit such as a community
benefits agreement, specifying
future levels of loans,
investments and services for
communities of color, low- and
moderate-income communities
and other underserved
communities... A
description of the progress
the bank has made in
implementing the lending,
investment, grants and other
goals of any community
benefits agreement." Watch
this site.
Whether or not
the U.S. Community
Reinvestment Act will be again
enforced until the new
Administration and its
regulators is an open
question. And the proposed
merger of two redlining banks,
M&T and People's United,
will be a litmus test, see
below.
And now another
one: Old National's proposal
to buy First Midwest. If the
Federal Reserve, or at least
Governor (soon to be Fed
chair?) Lael Brainard, had a
problem with PNC - BBVA, why
now Old National - First
Midwest?
For now we
note that in Indiana in 2019
Old National based on its
disparate marketing made 3312
mortgage loans to whites, with
1060 denials to whites --
while making only SIXTY TWO
loans to African Americans,
with more than that in
denials: 65. This is
outrageous.
Inner City
Press (and Fair Finance Watch,
on the HMDA) will have more to
say about this. Watch this
site.
While
M&T - People's United
still pends in the Federal
Reserve, with a promised
expedited FOIA response still
not forthcoming, the Fed in
mid May approved PNC - BBVA,
with a rare abstention by
Governor Lael Brainard, albeit
on antitrust and not CRA or
fair lending grounds.
***
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