Testimony of Dory Rand, Woodstock Institute president, before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services in support of the implementation of Dodd-Frank Act. This testimony was presented during a field hearing held in Chicago, Illinois entitled "Regulatory Reform: Examining How New Regulations are Impacting Financial Institutions, Small Business, and Consumers in Illinois."

Woodstock Institute opposes this merger on the grounds that Capital One has an inadequate past record of meeting community financial needs. We also believe that the combined financial institution, as the fifth largest bank by deposits with a vulnerable portfolio heavily concentrated in credit cards, would pose significant risk to the financial system. Finally, this application demonstrates the inadequacy of current regulatory for ensuring that large financial institutions with limited branch networks are meeting the lending and financial services needs of low-wealth communities.

Senior Vice President Geoff Smith testifies before the Housing Committee of the Illinois House of Representatives on the issue of "red flag" properties and servicer accountability.

Vice President Tom Feltner testifies before the Finance Committee of the City Council of Chicago on the need to preserve access to basic, low-cost transaction accounts and proposes a citywide CRA commitment.

While HMDA data have been a valuable tool in fighting discrimination and redlining and improving access to credit to underserved markets, there are substantial opportunities to improve the data collected to make it even more effective. One of the main limitations of the current HMDA data is the lack of sufficient information on underwriting and product characteristics. One of the major frustrations experienced when analyzing HMDA data is being able to document clear patterns that indicate discriminatory lending, but lacking the necessary data to prove that discrimination is occurring. This frustration has been compounded by the lack of action taken by regulatory agencies in the face of clear indications of discriminatory lending behavior. Whle the Dodd-Frank Act will add key data points that will solve many of these concerns, Woodstock believes that there is still opportunity to improve the data collected.

Discusses the types of financial institutions that should have reinvestment responsibilities and the geographies where those responsibilities are assessed. Also includes recommendations to improve the services test portion of the CRA and improve the ratings and incentive structure of the CRA.

Testimony presented to the Office of Thrift Supervision opposing Republic Bancorp’s application for a charter conversion from a bank holding company to a savings and loan holding company.  Discusses the impact of the RAL product on lower-income Chicago communities and need to eliminate the refund anticipation loan product or require additional consumer protections.