NCRC Study Shows Continued Lack of Access to Lending

SLEHCRA

RELEASE: National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA) Release St. Louis Metropolitan Area Fair Lending Analysis

St. Louis, MO – Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Coalition (SLEHCRA) released an analysis of home purchase lending in St. Louis and the surrounding area. The report reveals significant racial and income disparities in home purchase lending in St. Louis.

“This report shows clearly shows the lack of mortgage credit in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and predominantly minority neighborhoods in the St. Louis area,” said NCRC’s President and CEO John Taylor. “These neighborhoods are lending deserts. Without the ability to access responsible mortgage credit and become a homeowner, avenues to build wealth are severely curtailed.”

“Until our financial institutions make a full and genuine commitment that creditworthy borrowers, regardless of their skin color, will be able to access responsible credit, the economies in these neighborhoods will continue to deteriorate, and we will continue to have the circumstances you see in St. Louis, Baltimore, and elsewhere.”

“This report simply puts numbers to what we see every day. Majority African American neighborhoods don’t have the same access to credit that white neighborhoods enjoy. We still have a lot of work to do before we close the book on St. Louis’ ugly history of redlining,” said Elisabeth Risch, Co-Chair of SLEHCRA.

Key findings in St. Louis:

· In the City of St. Louis, the racial composition of a neighborhood is a strong predictor of mortgage activity.

· Credit is flowing more to neighborhoods with higher white populations. In hyper-segregated neighborhoods in which the population is 75-98 percent black, less than one percent of homes received a home purchase loan in the 2012-2014 period.

· In the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area, median family income best predicts home loan activity.

· It is difficult for qualified borrower of any race to secure credit in high-poverty, hyper-segregated areas.

Local Fair Lending advocates will be speaking out about the continued lack of credit access at a press conference on Tuesday morning.

 

The St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA) is a coalition of non-profit and community organizations in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

SLEHCRA works to increase investment in minority communities, regardless of income, and in low- and moderate-income communities, regardless of race, by ensuring that banks are meeting their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act and fair lending laws.

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SLEHCRA Continues To Grow

SLEHCRA

We know that growing our membership strengthens our coalition. In recent months, we’ve seen Voices of Women, Man of Valor, and Walnut Park East Neighborhood Association all join the alliance. Together, we’re working to build a future of financial equity!

Midwest Bank Centre To Add North City Location!

SLEHCRA

As a result of SLEHCRA’s work to expand banking access in minority communities, Midwest BankCentre will be opening a branch inside Friendly Temple! We are thrilled to see traditional banking beginning to return to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd. SLEHCRA will continue to advocate for more traditional banking and less predatory check cashing stores. From Pastor Jones:

“We are pleased to partner with Midwest BankCentre to provide financial services to residents and businesses in the Martin Luther King Corridor, a community that has struggled to regain its prominence and realize its potential,” said Senior Pastor Michael Jones. “This groundbreaking collaboration underscores Friendly Temple’s community focus by empowering Corridor families with financial resources and education, and equipping local retail partners with tools to help them succeed.”

Read the full story in the St. Louis American.

SLEHCRA’s 2015 Report to the Community on NPR

SLEHCRA

Check out St. Louis Public Radio’s coverage of our 2015 Report to the Community.

“There are a lot of positive things that have happened and continue to happen, but there’s still a lot more work to be done,” Risch said. “There’s (still) a big disparity within minority lending. We also see neighborhoods, particularly in north city, that don’t have any bank branches.”

– SLEHCRA Co-Chair Elisabeth Risch

SLEHCRA Releases Its 2015 Report To The Community

SLEHCRA

Since its inception in 2009, the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA) has worked to increase investment in low- and moderate-income communities, regardless of race, and in minority communities, regardless of income, by ensuring that banks are meeting their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and fair lending laws. In practice, this work involves engaging in the CRA process to hold banks and regulators accountable, developing partnerships to help achieve the goals of outstanding performance in the community, and advocating for increased financial services that meet the needs of underserved communities.

This report is intended to capture changes that increase the availability of mainstream financial services and products to neighborhoods and groups of people historically excluded from banks. Findings were gathered from a survey of 23 banks that operate in the St. Louis metropolitan area on what changes have been made since 2012.

Click here to download the 2015 Report to the Community

Join SLEHCRA for our 2015 Report to the Community!

CRA & Banking, Press Releases, SLEHCRA

On Thursday, November 12th, the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA) will be presenting our 2015 Report to the Community.

SLEHCRA’s Report to the Community includes findings from a survey of area banks on how they are meeting the needs of the community. Survey responses capture new developments in the following topics:

-New Branch Locations in low- or moderate-income neighborhoods.

-Community Development Lending and Investments

-New Financial Products for Low to Moderate Income Customers

-Marketing Outreach to Communities of Color

-Minority Hiring

and more.

This year’s report will look at changes in the St. Louis metropolitan area’s banking community that have happened in the past three years. Findings also includes a report on the outcomes from SLEHCRA’s work.

The purpose of this report is to recognize the significant improvements in how the needs of low-income communities and communities of color are being met by banks, while also providing examples of best practices in order to continue the trend of improving performance.

The event is free and open to the public. It will take place at the O’Fallon Park Recreational Complex (4343 W. Florissant), in Meeting Room A/B.  The event will take place from 4pm-6pm, allowing for both the presentation and social time. Light refreshments will be served.

 

RELEASE: SLEHCRA Issues Statement on Eagle Bank and Trust, DOJ Settlement

SLEHCRA

September 30th(St. Louis, MO) – Yesterday, the Department of Justice announced it reached a $975,000 settlement with Eagle Bank and Trust.

The complaint originated from a comment letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which was filed by St. Louis Metropolitan Equal Housing and Opportunity Council (EHOC), on behalf of all of the members of St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA).  This comment letter prompted the FDIC to refer the case to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The complaint was a redlining case based on the bank’s branch locations, assessment areas, and low levels of mortgage lending to predominantly African American communities in St. Louis.

To resolve the complaint, Eagle Bank and Trust entered into a consent order that includes the following commitments:

 

– Two new bank branches, which includes the branch at 4100 Lindell, as well as another branch to be located in a predominantly African-American census tract within St. Louis City.

– Hiring of a Director of Community Development.

– $100,000 for Advertising and Marketing to minority communities, over the next four years.

– $75,000 for Financial Education and Credit Repair activities, over the next four years.

– A total of $800,000 in loan subsides for mortgages and small business loans in predominantly Africa-American census tracts. Loan subsidies could include lower interest rates, downpayment assistance, and closing costs paid to qualified borrowers.

 

“SLEHCRA is pleased that we have seen our regulatory agencies engage in addressing the growing problem of redlining. In a city known for extreme levels of neighborhood-level segregation, seeing financial institutions commit to increasing their commitment to communities of color gives us hope that we will be able to build a more unified and equitable St. Louis. We applaud all parties for coming to an agreement with significant commitments to underserved neighborhoods in North St. Louis City,” said Elisabeth Risch, Co-Chair of SLEHCRA.

Copies of the DOJ’s complaint and consent order are available online on the DOJ’s website.

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Midwest BankCentre and SLEHCRA Announce New Community Benefits Partnership!

Press Releases, SLEHCRA

Midwest BankCentre (MBC) to Open Second Branch in Near North County or North City within Two Years

Partnership with Community Advocate SLEHCRA to Expand Financial Services Infrastructure in Low-Moderate Income Areas Powering Advance

ST. LOUIS — Heartened by the results achieved since its November 2012 opening of the first banking facility ever located in the city of Pagedale, Mo., Midwest BankCentre has announced plans to open a second branch either in North St. Louis County or in North St. Louis City within two years.

 SLEHCRA-MBC CommunityBenefitsPartnership 1 3_19_2015

Representatives of Midwest BankCentre and the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA) including Consumers Council of Missouri, Beloved Streets of America, Ready! Aim! Advocate! Committee, Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council, Justine PETERSEN, and Community Action Agency of St. Louis County, Inc.  Photo by Laurie Medley

 

The bank’s decision is reflected within a new public benefits partnership plan forged with the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA) to extend the bank’s success in providing financial services to customers in the Pagedale and 24:1 area to other low-moderate income neighborhoods. SLEHCRA is a coalition of 14 nonprofit and community organizations working to increase investment in low-income and in minority communities. The 24:1 area encompasses the two dozen municipalities located within the geographic boundaries of the Normandy School District.

“We are pleased to build on the trust we’ve established with SLEHCRA members over several years of actively working together to improve community access to banking services,” said Jim Watson, chairman and chief executive officer of Midwest BankCentre. “SLEHCRA’s members are keenly aware of community needs, and we look forward to working as partners to align our services and resources in ways that increase banking access for African-American, Latino, Bosnian, Asian and other minorities living and working in low-moderate income and majority minority neighborhoods.”

“As members of SLEHCRA, we are pleased to partner with a strong, locally-owned community bank that recognizes opportunities and values partnering with our organizations to attune products, services and educational offerings to the needs of our community,” said Elisabeth Risch, director of education and research for the SLEHCRA member Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council. “We hope other banks will follow Midwest BankCentre’s proactive approach to creating a community benefits plan that provides increased access to low-cost banking services and products throughout our community.”

The bank’s planned acquisition of Southern Commercial Bank, which will double the bank’s geographic footprint, will enable building upon Midwest BankCentre’s strength in lending to African-American borrowers. The acquisition will immediately add multiple branches within South St. Louis City near clusters of various other minority groups, including Latinos living near St. Cecilia’s Parish in South St. Louis and Bosnians surrounding Southern Commercial Bank’s location at 4914 Gravois Road in the Bevo neighborhood.

Midwest BankCentre plans to build on the strengths of its combined team in lending to small businesses, with a strong focus on minority-owned firms. “This is a strategic initiative for us that helps build customer relationships, strengthens our community and contributes to the bank’s long-term success,” Watson said. “What we’re doing is what community banking is all about – helping our customers and our community be successful – supported by an exceptional team and the infrastructure of our growing branch network.”

The ongoing dialogue between Midwest BankCentre, SLEHCRA and other community organizations serving low-moderate income neighborhoods throughout St. Louis will continue, he noted. “Our goal is to continue banding together with effective organizations to do what we each do best and offer local residents and business owners the benefits of our cooperative efforts,” Watson added.

In 2012, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) ranked St. Louis third in the country for unbanked African-American households, at 28.6 percent. Nationally, 17.9 percent of non-Asian minority, lower-income, younger and unemployed households are unbanked or underbanked.

Since 2011, local nonprofit leaders, bankers and others working together as the St. Louis Regional Unbanked Task Force have focused on increasing the availability of banking products while educating local citizens about banking alternatives to paying high fees to cash checks and access other financial services. Alex Fennoy, Midwest BankCentre senior vice president and director of community development, has co-chaired the task force since its inception.

See the full SLEHCRA-MBC Community Benefits Partnership [PDF] here!

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SLEHCRA Receives National Community Reinvestment Award!

Press Releases, SLEHCRA

March 27, 2015 – The St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance is proud to announce that we will receive the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s National Community Reinvestment Award.   The National Community Reinvestment Award recognizes an individual or organization who, through their work, has best exemplified the ideals and values of the community reinvestment movement and economic justice.  This award comes after many years of financial justice work, culminating in 2014’s agreement with Midland States Bank.  This agreement impacts communities from St. Louis to suburban Chicago, with major investments in St. Louis and Joliet, IL.

“As a region, we have been struggling with the negative repercussions of systemic racism and the lack of opportunities available to so many St. Louisans,” said Chaplain Will Jordan, Executive Director of Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council.  “We are thrilled to be recognized for our work impacting financial access for our region’s low-to-moderate income families and communities of color.”

Since 2009, SLEHCRA’s financial justice advocacy has resulted in:

  • Four new bank branches opened in low or moderate income areas, including Pagedale, Olivette, Ferguson, and the Grove neighborhood, with an additional two new branches scheduled to open in the future.
  • Over $30 million committed by banks for community development activities, with six formal agreements signed.
  • New banking products created and brought to market, focused on low to moderate income consumers including new checking accounts and loan products.
  • Over $550,000 committed to financial education partnerships with local non-profits.
  • Increased diversity of bank employees and board of directors, including creation of at least 16 new CRA and Community Development positions created at banks focused on serving the needs of the community.

“Our coalition looks forward to helping make the St. Louis region a model community, for lending to low-to-moderate income families and communities of color,” added Jackie Hutchinson, President of Consumers Council of Missouri.  “Ensuring that these individuals and families have access to affordable credit and banking products will help unlock the potential of these communities.”

“It’s also important to remember that we are bringing new customers to these financial institutions, and that is going to make these banks money.  It really is a “win-win” for consumers, lenders, and our whole region,” said Rob Boyle, CEO of Justine PETERSEN.

Other members of SLEHCRA include Beloved Streets of America, The Coalition of Concerned Citizens(Alton Area), The Center for the Acceleration of African American Business, Community Action Agency of St. Louis County, Lemay Housing Partnership, Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates, Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, MoKan, NAACP St. Louis, North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice, and Ready, Aim, Advocate! Committee.

About The National Community Reinvestment Coalition

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) was formed in 1990 by national, regional, and local organizations to develop and harness the collective energies of community reinvestment organizations from across the country so as to increase the flow of private capital into traditionally underserved communities. NCRC has grown to an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development and vibrant communities for America’s working families.

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SLEHCRA Supports Stifel Bank and Trust’s CRA Strategic Plan

Press Releases, SLEHCRA

The St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA) is pleased announce its endorsement of Stifel Bank and Trust’s CRA Strategic Plan.  Once approved by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Strategic Plan will guide Stifel Bank over the next three years in their community outreach and commitment efforts.

Although not widely used, CRA Strategic Plans are an option banks can choose within CRA regulations instead of receiving a standardized CRA evaluation.  Stifel Bank and Trust is the only bank in the St. Louis metropolitan area that developed a CRA Strategic Plan. The Federal Reserve describes strategic plans in this way:

“This option allows an institution to develop a plan with the community input detailing how the institution proposes to meet its CRA obligation. The plan is tailored to the needs of the community using direct community input at the development stage. The institution informally seeks suggestions from the public while developing the plan and once developed it must publish notice of the plan and solicit written public comment for at least 30 days. After the comment period, the institution submits the plan to its regulator for review and approval.”

When a bank with a strategic plan is due for a CRA evaluation, they are evaluated on the specific goals outlined in their strategic plan. Stifel Bank and Trust held a 30 day open comment period to solicit input from the public on its strategic plan. Community members interested in fully reviewing the plan and providing comments can contact the bank online or by visiting 12655 Olive Blvd, Suite 250, St. Louis, MO 63141.

The items in the Stifel Bank CRA Strategic Plan set forth a significant commitment by the bank regarding lending, investment, and services for community development in the St. Louis assessment area. Although Stifel Bank and Trust operates in 45 states across the U.S., this strategic plan will operate specifically for the St. Louis region where the bank has one branch location in St. Louis City and another in St. Louis County. Given these two branch locations, Stifel Bank and Trust’s assessment area used in its CRA evaluation includes St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County.

The specific goals Stifel Bank and Trust has proposed to strive to meet to achieve an “outstanding” rating in the first year includes:

–        Home loan originations to low- and moderate-income communities above 2 percent of the bank’s peer lenders

–        Originate at least $12.5 million in CRA qualified community development loans

–        Originate at least $25 million in community development investments

–        Give 0.625% of prior year’s profits in charitable donations back to the community

–        Give 1.25 hours in community service activities for each full time employee

–        Underwrite $125 million in community development bond offerings

In order to meet these ambitions goals, Stifel Bank and Trust has an robust plan to work with community organizations, to market their services to low- and moderate-income communities, and to regularly evaluate their practices to ensure that they are meeting the lending needs of low- and moderate-income communities within their assessment area.  SLEHCRA looks forward to working in partnership with Stifel Bank and Trust as their strategic plan moves into implementation.