Community Reinvestment Act

Can Chicago Lobbying Save ShoreBank?

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Thu, 08/05/2010 - 15:04

Shorebank logoProbably not. Seems like the more that presidentially-prized ShoreBank gets extensions from private financial institutions (Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, etc.) and from its federal regulators (the FDIC and Federal Reserve), the deeper in the hole it finds itself. Earlier this week the Chicago Tribune reported:

ShoreBank’s capital deficiency worsened in the second quarter, according to newly submitted financial results to regulators, and the Chicago-based lender now needs to raise at least $190 million just to meet targets set out in March by state and U.S. banking regulators….

Is ShoreBank Sheila Bair's Baby?

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 15:27

Sheila BairThe deadline for ShoreBank to come up with sufficient outside capital has been extended again, with the Federal Reserve saying more than $150 million from the likes of Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and $75 million in TARP money aren’t enough to save the politically-connected community lender. Crain’s Chicago Business reports it’s the third extension the Wall Street firms have granted to enable ShoreBank to get its act together, with the new deadline August 6.

FBN: Flaherty Assails Racial Mandates in Financial Regulatory Overhaul

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Thu, 07/22/2010 - 19:30

I was interviewed by David Asman on the Fox Business Network on Wednesday, July 21. The topic is the racial mandates contained in the Dodd-Frank financial services regulatory overhaul. Here's a transcript:

ShoreBank President Uses Saul Alinsky Playbook

Submitted by Paul Chesser on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 13:11

Rules for RadicalsLast week the Chicago Tribune reported that Illinois Finance Authority chairman Bill Brandt threatened “a firestorm” in the Windy City if the Federal Reserve did not follow through with a bailout of South Side-based ShoreBank. This followed some reported pressure applied by the Obama Administration on companies like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, GE Capital, Bank of America, and Chase, who were asked to kick in $20 million each to make politically-backed community lender appear eligible to receive TARP funds. 

Turns out the preference for Chicago-type coercion goes right to the top (and the origins) of the troubled bank itself.

Martha Coakley Got A+ From ACORN

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 15:18

Coakley photoA June 12, 2008 press release from Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley ballyhoos the fact that she earned an “A+” from ACORN. Ironically, this perfect grade was awarded for “responding to the foreclosure crisis.” No single non-governmental entity is more responsible for the real estate meltdown than ACORN.

Coakley’s press release goes on to detail various prosecutions of shady subprime operators but, of course, there is not a word about any investigation or prosecution of ACORN.

Syndicate content