Posted on 05/11/2011 12:04:38 PM PDT by NoLibZone
Community activists in St. Louis became concerned a couple of years ago that local banks weren't offering credit to the city's poor and African American residents. So they formed a group called the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance and began writing complaint letters to federal regulators.
Apparently, someone in Washington took notice. The Federal Reserve has cited one of the group's targets, Midwest BankCentre, a small bank that has been operating in St. Louis's predominantly white, middle-class suburbs for over a century, for failing to issue home mortgages or open branches in disadvantaged areas. Although executives at the bank say they don't discriminate, Midwest BankCentre's latest annual report says it is in the process of negotiating a settlement with the U.S. Justice Dept. over its lending practices.
Lawyers and bank consultants say regulators and the Obama Administration are scrutinizing financial institutions for a practice that last drew attention before the rise of subprime lending: redlining. The term dates from the 1930s, when the Federal Housing Administration drew up maps using red ink to delineate inner-city neighborhoods considered too risky for lending. Congress later passed laws banning lending discrimination on the basis of race and other characteristics. "The agencies have refocused on redlining because, in the wake of the subprime explosion and sudden implosion, they are looking at these disadvantaged neighborhoods and not seeing any credit access," says Jo Ann Barefoot, co-chair at Treliant Risk Advisors in Washington, D.C., which consults with banks on regulatory issues.
The 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires banks to make loans in all the areas they serve, not just the wealthy ones.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
Community activists in St. Louis became concerned a couple of years ago that local banks weren’t offering credit to the city’s poor and African American residents.”
What a crock. Banks aren’t lending to ANYONE...
As the DNC’s vote buys continue to crush the world’s economy; millions of children will die of starvation.
A good dose of redlining must help solve the problem.
Loan Officer: Now, let me get this straight, Mr., ..uh.. Mr. White. You’d like to borrow $50,000 from our bank, but you have no collateral, you have no credit. You don’t even have any I.D. Is that correct?
Eddie Murphy: That’s right.
Loan Officer: Mr. White, I’m sorry. This is not a charity. This is a business..
White Loan Officer: Uh, Harry, why don’t you, uh, take your break now? I’ll take care of.. uh.. Mr. White.
Loan Officer: Well.. okay. Thanks, Bob. [ exits ]
White Loan Officer: [ laughs, then sits ] That was a close one, wasn’t it?
Eddie Murphy: It certainly was.
White Loan Officer: We don’t have to bother with these formalities, do we, Mr. White? Huh?
Eddie Murphy: What a silly Negro!
White Loan Officer: Just take what you want, Mr. White. Pay us back anytime. Or don’t. We don’t care.
Eddie Murphy: Tell me, do you know of any other banks like this in this area?
if you don’t lend you’re redlining,
if you do and expect payment, you’re a predatory lender.
life in Obamaville.
Let’s see now. What was that definition of “insanity”?
This is not the case.
Mortgage default rates and borrower race
...Conclusion: Our analysis of conventional mortgage data confirms the results of previous analyses of FHA mortgages: Black households have higher marginal default rates. Further we find no evidence of higher profitability on loans to Black borrowers but find evidence of lower equity for Black borrowers. These results are not consistent with racial discrimination in mortgage lending.
the coalition, which organized last summer, includes the St. Louis office of ACORN; Adequate Housing for Missourians; the Citizens Coalition to Fight Eminent Domain Abuse; Justine Petersen; Metro St. Louis Coalition for Inclusion and Equity (M-SLICE); the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council and the Wellston Community Support Association.
...
The 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires banks to make loans in all the areas they serve, not just the wealthy ones.
So, let me get this straight, the CRA now requires banks to make loans in areas they DON'T serve and DON'T have branches in.
Gee, maybe they would rather not voluntarily set themselves up to be robbed! Or perhaps they don't see the profitability in being in an area where 85% of the residents either can't open a checking account due to being on Chexsystems, or 90% can't get a loan because they don't have a job or pay their bills.
I swear, the 2012 GOP slogan should be: IDGAF. Call me racist, I don't care anymore. And then nominate Herman Cain to really eff with them.
A small bank, I did business with several years,was hit with a suit of this nature about 5 or 6 yrs. ago. After spending time & money, they settled. The bank was put out of business and assets sold off in Feb, 2010.
I guess "liar loans" and welfare as "income" are back in style again.
If banks don't loan, they are "racist." If they try to get paid back, they are "criminals."
Heads the Democrats win, Tails the taxpayers lose.
Oh lord. Here we go again.
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