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.

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 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 opposing the proposed 2001 acquisition of Grupo Financiero Banamex Accival and its subsidiaries (Banamex) by Citigroup.

Comment letter on the proposed 2000 acquisition of FirstStar by US Bancorp.

Comment letter opposing the proposed 2000 acquisition of the Associates by Citigroup. Under normal merger application procedures, the letter states that this acquisition should be denied or at least conditioned on Community
Reinvestment Act (CRA) and fair lending grounds.

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.