AQUINNAH WAMPANOAG TRIBAL HOUSING AUTHORITY
From: Jennie Greene
[mailto:awtha1@vineyard.net]
Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2004 11:48 AM
To: regs.comments@occ.treas.gov; regs.comments@federalreserve.gov;
Comments;
regs.comments@ots.treas.gov
Subject: lh.doc
April 3, 2004
Docket No. 04-06
Communications Division
Public Information Room, Mailstop 1-5
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
250 E. St. SW
Washington DC 20219
Docket No. R-1181
Jennifer Johnson
Secretary
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
Washington DC 20551
Robert E. Feldman
Executive Secretary
Attention: Comments
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
550 17th St. NW
Washington DC 20429
Regulation Comments, Attention: No. 2004-04
Chief Counsel’s Office
Office of the Thrift Supervision
1700 G Street NW
Washington DC 20552
Dear Officials of Federal Banks and Thrift Agencies:
The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Housing Authority requests that you
carefully consider the implications of adopting the proposed changes to
the Community Reinvestment Act regulations. CRA has made major inroads
to the American Dream – home ownership – in low income, minority areas
of this vast country of ours. Not only has the CRA required that banks
provide loan money to minority areas for housing, but it has provided
the tool needed for economic development in depressed areas and is just
beginning to be a tool that Native Americans are using to improve life
on reservations and tribal trust lands.
In January, I testified before the Federal Reserve Bank regarding the
merger of the Fleet Bank and Bank of America. It was clear that many of
the persons testifying before me represented low income housing entities
from all over the country. They were there to testify to the fact that
there is a greater need for CRA funds to be distributed in minority, low
and moderate income areas. Only one other person testifying before me
even mentioned the desperate need of the Native Americans – the first
Americans.
If the proposed changes are adopted for the streamlined examination
of how banks with assets of over $250 million there will be even less
accountability of these organizations than there is already. As the
trend of the larger banks merging continues this will mean that shortly
they will not have to report the necessary information to evaluate a
banks commitment to the CRA. The small banking institutions – those with
assets of less than $250 million will be placed with a burden of
reporting that is more than the larger banks who have the capacity to
easily provide this information.
As we all know, a bank that does not have to respond to you as their
regulators about their participation in CRA they will not participate in
CRA. Without the ability of you as the regulators, and we the public to
scrutinize the information presently provided there will be no way to
hold the larger banking institutions accountable.
Part of my testimony in Boston addressed the fact the poorest
underserved population in this country is the Native American population
living on or near reservations. Banking services are basically
non-existent on many reservations in the west. Predatory lending is
rampant. Tribal members on or near reservations are often not able to
access banking services. This means that these people are unable to open
a checking or savings account, can not get a credit card or an ATM card,
much less build a credit rating so that they can be approved for a
mortgage. All things that the average American takes for granted.
A small tribal business is not going to succeed with out the ability
to access banking services. They cannot buy product without a credit
rating and they cannot pay for the product with out a banking account.
So even if they have a great dream, the ability to put the dream into a
saleable sought after product they cannot purchase the raw materials to
manufacture the product.
Part of my request to the Federal Reserve Board was to have the
proposed merged bank be required to provide services to Indian Country,
whether it be in Maine, Florida, Arizona or Alaska. A large bank can
afford to develop new territory when a small bank cannot. If the
proposed regulations are approved then there will be no accountability
to your Boards that large banks are providing the necessary banking
services to Indian Country, or any other minority community as well.
As I mentioned before predatory lending is rampant in Indian Country.
If the legal banks will not come to the reservations, then the predatory
lenders will come. At present, the National American Indian Housing
Council holds frightening survey results about predatory lending in
Indian Country. Not surprisingly, the survey found that the population
that is most abused by predatory lending are the elders who can least
afford legal assistance when borrowing money. The statistics are
alarming and I urge you to contact Gary Gordon, Executive Director of
the NAIHC to discuss them with you. If the predatory lending standard is
adopted as proposed the lender will be able to pack on all kinds of
closing costs and fees and it will not appear on any CRA radar screen.
Will that help those that need assistance most? No. Will it perpetuate a
problem? Yes. Will it hold the banks accountable for their predatory
practices? No. If a large bank does predatory lending outside of its
assessment area will it become accountable for it? No.
We appreciate the concept of enhanced data disclosure to be available
to the public, but believe that even more can be achieved in this area.
The federal banking agencies need to look within their own requirements
to decide what data will best assess a bank or financial institutions
investment in the success of the CRA. Requiring an institution to make
further reportings without a reporting standard that can be applied
nationwide to inform the public if the institution(s) is meeting the CRA
requirements is not beneficial. These reports should be able to address
the success in the banks assessment area and/or outside the assessment
area in simple verbiage and a language that the local inhabitants can
read and understand. This will ensure that the public has access the to
the information that they need to know what institutions are meeting the
requirements of the CRA, and to evaluate what banks they wish to do
business with.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this very important
issue.
Sincerely,
Jennie Greene
Housing Administrator
Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Housing Authority
P.O. Box 479
Chilmark, MA 02535
Cc: President George W. Bush
Treasury Secretary John W. Snow
National Community Reinvestment Coalition
National American Indian Housing Council
