| CRA Challenge to Planters
Bank and Trust Cross Keys Merger
Leads to Strange Response
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SOUTH
BRONX/Federal
Court,
June 25 – A proposed
merger by Planters Bank &
Trust in Mississippi and
Tennessee with Cross Keys Bank
in Louisiana and Texas has
brought into focus Planters'
disparate lending.
On June 9
Fair Finance Watch, reviewing
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
patterns nationwide, filed a
timely Community Reinvestment
Act protest with the FDIC:
The applicant
Planters Bank & Trust
Company in 2023 in Mississippi
had a denial rate for the
mortgage loan applications of
African Americans more than
twice as high as for white
applicants. For whites it
originated 11.53 loans for
every denial to whites; for
African Americans it
originated only 4.59 loans for
every denial.
Planters Bank & Trust
Company in 2023 in Louisiana,
in which it proposes now to
further grow, made three loans
to whites with no denials to
whites; one to an African
American applicant with also
denying an African Americans'
application.
Planters
Bank & Trust Company in
2023 in Tennessee originated
eight mortgage loans to whites
and NONE to African Americans.
These
practices should not be
allowed to expand, and should
not be introduced into
Texas. This merger and
expansion proposal should be
denied.
[In
May 2025 the
FDIC imposed a
CRA condition on
ConnectOne,
after Fair
Finance Watch's
challenge -
letter with
condition on
Inner City
Press'
DocumentCloud here.
And
on Planters Bank
& Trust?
Well,
on June 24 a
strange response
was
received
from Planters
Holding
Company's
legal adviser
Walker Jones,
or really,
from Mimecast. They demanded
that one open an
account in
order to be able
to read
whatever response
they sent to
the FDIC. Given
the record,
no. FFW has
filed a second
comment
including
Since
then, all we
have received
is a strange
message from
"postmaster"
as Planters'
legal adviser,
saying we'd
have to enter
information
and open an
account to
read whatever
they sent us,
presumably a
response to
our CRA
protest. We
are reluctant,
and ask that
whatever
response be
regular
emailed to us,
or through the
FDIC.
Meanwhile we
have now been
able to review
Planters 2024
HMDA data,
just made
available -
and it is
worse that in
2023.
Planters Bank
& Trust
Company in
2023 in
Louisiana, in
which it
proposes now
to further
grow, made
three loans to
whites and one
to an African
American
applicant.
In
2024? Planters
in Louisiana
made five
loans to
whites, and
still only one
to an African
American. It
is getting
worse, the
disparity is
widening.
Planters
Bank &
Trust Company
in 2023 in
Tennessee
originated
eight mortgage
loans to
whites and
NONE to
African
Americans. It
continued with
no loans to
African
Americans in
Tennessee in
2024.
In Mississippi
the applicant
Planters Bank
& Trust
Company in
2024 still had
essentially
double the
denial rate
for African
Americans as
for white
applicants.
Including now
in light of
the strange
"response" by
Planters
and/or its
counsel, Inner
City Press is
requesting an
extension of
the public
comment
period, public
/ virtual
evidentiary
hearings and
that, on the
current
record, the
applications
not be
approved.
Watch this site
***
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