CRA Comment letters submitted as part on the occasion of a merger or acquisition. Woodstock Institute regularly comments on bank mergers throughout the Chicago region, and the nation. For information on a specific bank, please contact Woodstock Institute through the comment page.
Comment letter opposing the proposed 2002
acquisition of the Bank of Kenney by Cincinnati BancGroup, Inc.
The letter also requests a public hearing to discuss the negative
repercussions of allowing a payday lender to become a bank holding
company in a clear attempt to avoid state laws regulating payday loans.
Comment letter on the proposed 2002 aquisition of Fidelity Federal Savings Bank by MAF Bancorp (parent company of MidAmerica Bank). These comments follow up on Woodstock Institute's 2001 comments protesting MAF Bancorp’s proposed acquisition of Midtown Bancorp because of MAF Bancorp’s poor performance in lending to minorities and for its discriminatory CRA assessment area.
Comment letter expressing concerns about the
proposed 1998 merger between NationsBank and Bank of America. The
letter cites the same concerns raised by the Community Reinvestment
Association of North Carolina and the California Reinvestment
Committee, including the activities of NationsBank subprime lending
subsidiaries and urges the Federal Reserve to extend its public comment
period substantially and to hold public hearings on the merger in
multiple locations, including North Carolina, California, and Chicago.
Addendum to comment letter
on the proposed 2002 aquisition of Fidelity Federal Savings Bank by MAF
Bancorp. As a result of a Dept of Justice investigation, the bank
announced that it was settling regarding fair lending disparities and
discrimination against residents of minority census tracts. The Bank
has agreed to open or acquire two branch offices in minority areas
within 30 months, implement a targeted ad campaign to increase home
mortgage lending, and provide $10 million in benefits to borrowers through special financing programs to help residents of minority areas achieve home ownership.
